The Enchantresses
Once upon a time, there lived a widow who had two daughters. The elder was so much like her in both temper and appearance that whoever saw her might as well have been looking at her mother. Both the mother and the daughter were so disagreeable and haughty that it was impossible to get along with them. The younger daughter, who in gentleness and kindness resembled her late father, was also one of the most beautiful girls ever seen. And since everyone naturally loves those who are like themselves, the mother doted on her elder daughter while harboring a deep dislike for the younger one. She made the younger daughter eat in the kitchen and forced her to work tirelessly. Among her many chores, the poor girl had to fetch water twice a day from a spring half a mile away, carrying a large pitcher.One day, as she stood by the spring, a beggar woman approached and asked for a drink. "Here you are, grandmother," said the beautiful girl, rinsing the pitcher and filling it with the freshest water before handing it to the woman, holding it steady so she could drink more easily. After drinking, the woman said, "You are so beautiful, kind, and polite that I cannot help but reward you with a magical gift." (For she was a fairy who had taken the form of a poor peasant woman to test the girl's character.) "This gift," continued the fairy, "will be that with every word you speak, either a flower or a precious stone will fall from your lips."
When the girl returned home, her mother scolded her for being gone so long. "Forgive me, mother, for being delayed," replied the poor girl, and as she spoke, two roses, two pearls, and two large diamonds fell from her mouth. "What is this?" exclaimed the astonished mother. "It seems as though pearls and diamonds are falling from her mouth! How is this possible, my daughter?" (It was the first time she had called her "my daughter.") The poor girl innocently told her everything that had happened, showering the ground with countless diamonds in the process. "Well," said the mother, "I must send my other daughter there. Look, Fanchon, what falls from your sister's mouth when she speaks. Wouldn't you like to have such a gift? All you need to do is go to the spring for water, and when a beggar asks for a drink, serve her politely."
"Go to the spring for water? Never!" the rude daughter replied arrogantly.
"I insist that you go, and immediately," retorted the mother.
The daughter went, grumbling all the way. She took the most beautiful silver pitcher in the house with her. Before she even reached the spring, a richly dressed lady emerged from the woods and asked for a drink. This was the same fairy who had appeared to her sister, but this time she was disguised as a princess to test the limits of the girl's ill temper.
"Did I come here just to serve you water?" snapped the rude and ill-mannered girl. "And I carried this silver pitcher just to quench your thirst? Well, drink if you must."
"You are not at all polite," replied the fairy, unperturbed. "Since you are so unkind, I shall bestow upon you a gift: with every word you speak, either a toad or a snake will fall from your mouth."
As soon as the mother saw her, she cried out, "Well, daughter, what happened?"
"Well, mother!" replied the rude daughter, and two vipers and two toads leaped from her mouth.
"Oh, heavens!" exclaimed the mother. "What is this? Her sister is to blame for all this; she will pay for it."
She immediately rushed to beat the younger daughter, but the poor girl ran away and hid in the nearby forest. The king's son, returning from a hunt, came across her and, seeing how beautiful she was, asked what she was doing there all alone and why she was crying.
"Ah, sir! My mother has driven me from home."
The king's son, noticing that five or six pearls and as many diamonds had fallen from her mouth, asked her to explain. She told him her story. The prince fell in love with her and, considering such a gift more valuable than any dowry, took her to his father's palace and married her.
As for her sister, she became so hated by everyone that even her mother drove her away. The wretched girl, unwanted by anyone no matter how far she wandered, eventually died somewhere in the forest.
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