The Wonderful Sheep

Once upon a time, when fairies still lived, there was a king who had three daughters. They were all young, clever, and beautiful, but the youngest, whose name was Miranda, was the prettiest and the most loved.

The king, her father, gave her more dresses and jewels in a month than he gave the others in a year. But she was so generous that she shared everything with her sisters, and they were all happy and loved each other very much.

Now the king had some quarrelsome neighbors. They tired of leaving him in peace and started a fierce war against him. He feared he would lose unless he fought back. So he gathered a great army and left to fight. The princesses stayed with their governess in a castle.

Every day, news of the war arrived: sometimes that the king had captured a town, sometimes that he had won a battle. At last, word came that he had beaten his enemies and chased them out of his kingdom.

He was coming home as quickly as possible to see his dear little Miranda, whom he loved so much.

The three princesses put on satin dresses they had made for the great occasion. One wore green, one blue, and the third white. Their jewels matched: the eldest wore emeralds, the second turquoises, and the youngest diamonds. Dressed like this, they went to meet the king, singing verses they had written about his victories.

When the king saw them all so beautiful and happy, he hugged them warmly. But he gave Miranda more kisses than the others.

Soon a splendid banquet was served. The king and his daughters sat down. He always thought everything had a special meaning, so he asked the eldest:

"Tell me why you chose a green dress."

"Sire," she answered, "hearing of your victories, I thought green would show my joy and hope for your quick return."

"That is a very good answer," said the king. "And you, my daughter," he continued, "why did you wear a blue dress?"

"Sire," she said, "to show that we always hoped for your success. Seeing you is as welcome as the sky with its most beautiful stars."

"Why," said the king, "your wise answers amaze me. And you, Miranda. What made you dress all in white?"

"Because, sire," she answered, "white suits me better than anything else."

"What!" said the king angrily. "Was that all you thought of, vain child?"

"I thought you would be pleased with me," said the princess. "That was all."

The king loved her, so he was satisfied with this. He even pretended to be glad she hadn't told him all her reasons at first.

"And now," he said, "since I have supped well and it's not time to go to bed yet, tell me what you dreamed last night."

The eldest said she dreamed he brought her a dress with precious stones and gold embroidery brighter than the sun.

The second dreamed he brought her a spinning wheel and a distaff so she could spin him some shirts.

But the youngest said: "I dreamed that my second sister was going to be married. On her wedding day, you, father, held a golden pitcher and said, 'Come, Miranda, and I will hold the water so you can dip your hands in it.'"

When the king heard this dream, he became very angry indeed. He frowned horribly and made such an ugly face that everyone could see how furious he was. He got up and went to bed in a great hurry. But he could not forget his daughter's dream.

"Does that proud girl want to make me her slave?" he said to himself. "No wonder she chose white satin without a thought of me. She doesn't think I'm worth her consideration! But I will soon put an end to her pretensions!"

He rose in a fury. Though it was not yet daylight, he sent for the Captain of his Bodyguard and said:

"You heard the Princess Miranda's dream. I believe it means strange things against me. So I order you to take her into the forest and kill her. To be sure it's done, you must bring me her heart and her tongue. If you try to deceive me, you will be put to death!"

The Captain of the Guard was very astonished at this barbarous order. But he did not dare to contradict the king, for fear of making him angrier or making him send someone else. So he answered that he would fetch the princess and do as the king said.

When he went to her room, it was so early that they hardly let him in. But he said the king had sent for Miranda. She got up quickly and came out. A little black girl named Patypata held up her train. Her pet monkey and her little dog ran after her.

The monkey was called Grabugeon, and the little dog Tintin.