NCE on a time there was a king who was a widower, and he had an only daughter. But it is an old saying, that a widower's grief is like knocking your funny bone—it hurts, but it soon passes away; and so the king married a queen who had two daughters. Now this queen—well, she was no better than stepmothers are wont to be; snappish and spiteful she always was to her stepdaughter.

Well, a long time after, when they were grown up, these three girls, war broke out, and the king had to go forth to fight for his country and his kingdom. But before he went the three daughters had leave to say what the king should buy and bring home for each of them, if he won the day against the foe.