Once upon a time, there was a shepherd boy called Michael. One day, while watching his flock, he fell asleep under an oak, and dreamed that a lady appeared and said, “Go to the castle of Beloeil, and you shall marry a princess.” So he set off for Beloeil.
Twelve beautiful princesses lived in the castle. All twelve girls slept in the same room and at night their door was bolted, but every morning their shoes were found worn and torn and full of holes. When the king asked them what they had been doing all night, they always answered, “Only sleeping, father”. At last, the king announced that the man who solved the mystery could choose one of the princesses for his wife. Many princes tried, but each one disappeared.
When Michael reached Beloeil, he asked the gardener for a job. His duty was to make bouquets that were given to the princesses every morning. When Lina, the youngest princess, saw Michael, she sighed.
“How pretty our new flower boy is!” she whispered. When Michael saw Lina, he fell in love straightaway.
That night, the lady came to him in a dream. In one hand she held a laurel tree and in the other a rake, a bucket and a silk towel.
“Plant this laurel,” she said. “Rake it, water it, and wipe it with the towel. When it is as tall as you, say, ‘Beautiful laurel, I have raked you and watered you. I have wiped you with the silk towel.’ Then ask for anything you choose, and it will be yours.”
When Michael awoke, he found a laurel tree beside his bed. So he carefully obeyed the lady’s instructions. The tree grew and grew. When it was as tall as him, Michael said, “Beautiful laurel, I have raked you and watered you. I have wiped you with the silk towel. I want to be invisible.” Instantly, a white flower appeared on the laurel. Michael picked it and in the blink of an eye he became invisible.
That night, when the princesses went up to bed, Michael made himself invisible and followed them. He watched the girls open their wardrobes and each put on a magnificent dress and a new pair of satin shoes. The eldest clapped her hands and a secret door opened in the floor.
The sisters disappeared down a staircase. Michael followed. Down they went and through another door into a beautiful wood of trees with silver-spangled leaves. Next they came to a wood with gold-spangled leaves, and then a third where the leaves glittered with diamonds. The princesses walked until they reached a lake where twelve little boats were waiting. From a castle on the far shore came the sound of music and laughter. Each princess stepped into a boat and paddled across the lake. Unseen, Michael slipped into Lina’s boat.
Inside the castle, the princesses went into a grand ballroom. Michael watched, envying every handsome young man who danced with Lina. The young men were all the princes who had tried to discover the princesses’ secret.
The girls had given them a magic potion, which made them forget who they were, and live only to dance.
The princesses danced until their shoes were worn and torn and full of holes. Then they returned home. As they passed through the silver wood, Michael broke off a branch as proof of what he had seen. Then he slipped ahead of them. Running up the secret staircase, he flung open the bedroom window and slid down a vine to the ground.
That day, when he made the bouquets, Michael hid the silver branch in Lina’s bouquet. She was very surprised, but said nothing.
That evening, Michael followed the sisters again. Lina looked for Michael, but she couldn’t see him. As they came back from the ball, Michael broke off a branch with gold-spangled leaves.
Next day Lina found the branch in her bouquet. So she stayed behind.
“Where does this branch come from?” she whispered to Michael.
“I followed you,” he replied.
“Please don’t reveal our secret,” begged Lina. But Michael said nothing.
The next night, as the princesses returned home from the ball, through the wood with diamond-spangled leaves, Lina heard a snapping sound and, sure enough, next morning the branch was in her bouquet.
“If you reveal our secret, you can choose one of us as your bride,” Lina whispered to Michael,
“I know,” answered Michael.
“Don’t you want to marry one of us?” she asked. But Michael said nothing.
Lina’s sisters saw her talking to the gardener’s boy. They teased her until she told them that Michael knew where they went at night.
“He must be sent to the dungeon,” said the eldest princess.
“No,” Lina cried. “If you harm him, I will tell father our secret myself.”
So they decided to take Michael to the ball and give him the magic potion that would enchant him. Michael, however, had made himself invisible and heard every word of their plan.
He went to the laurel tree and asked for clothes fit for a prince. A beautiful pink flower appeared. He picked it and found himself dressed in a fine, black, velvet tunic. So that night, Michael went with the princesses to the ball. He danced so gracefully that everyone was delighted with him. After supper, a page brought in a golden goblet.
“Michael,” said the eldest sister. “You have discovered our secret. Let’s drink to your triumph.”
Michael took the goblet, looking at Lina as he raised it to his lips.
“Don’t drink!” cried Lina. “I would rather marry a gardener than lose you.”
Michael flung the goblet aside, and fell to his knees at Lina’s feet. In a flash, the potion’s power over all the princes in the ballroom was broken. Each princess chose one of the princes to be their husband, and together they returned to Beloeil.
Michael told the king what he had discovered. The king was delighted and was happy to grant him Princess Lina’s hand in marriage, and Lina was delighted. But Lina did not become a gardener’s wife, because the king made Michael a prince, and they lived happily ever after.