Contest of the Fairies

Her maids of honor ran to see what was the matter, and found the Queen had had a frightful dream.

"I dreamt," said she, "that my little daughter had changed into a bouquet of roses, and that as I held the bouquet in my hand a bird swooped down suddenly and snatched it from me and carried it away."

"Oh, my!" cried a nurse. "Let someone run at once and see that all is well with the Princess."

So they ran. But what was their dismay when they found the cradle empty! They sought high and low throughout the kingdom for the princess Ronsanella, but not a trace of the baby could be found. The Queen could not be comforted, and nor for that matter could the King.

One summer evening, as the Queen sat in sorrow in her palace garden, she noticed a number of peasant girls approaching, each one of which followed the twelve tree-lined paths that led to the center of the garden. As each peasant girl drew near, she laid a basket at the Queen's feet, saying, "Charming Queen, may this be some slight comfort to you in your unhappiness."

The Queen hastily opened the baskets, and found inside each one a lovely baby girl, about the same age as the little Princess whom she missed so deeply. At first the sight of the babies only reminded her of her grief, but soon their charms so gained on her that, though she could never forget her own dear Rosanella, her attentions became quite occupied with providing the babies with nursery-maids, cradle-rockers, and ladies-in-waiting, and in sending hither and thither for swings and dolls and tops, and bushels of the finest sweetmeats.

Oddly enough, every baby had upon its throat a tiny pink rose also. The Queen found it difficult to decide on names for all twelve of them, so until she could settle the matter she chose a special color for each one, and dressed them accordingly, so that when they were all together they looked like a bouquet of bright flowers. As they grew older it became evident that though they were all remarkably intelligent, and learned a great deal from the education they received, yet they differed one from another in personality, so much so that gradually they were no longer known as "Pearl," or "Primrose," or "Jade" or whatever might have been their color-name.