The White Deer
Once upon a time, there lived a king and a queen. They had a beautiful kingdom, which they ruled happily. However, one thing saddened them deeply—they had no children.One day, while walking in the forest, the queen sat down to rest by the shore of a lake. Suddenly, she felt so unbearably sad and lonely that she cried out loudly:
"Oh, God, how I wish to have a child!"
Suddenly, the water in the lake began to churn, and from its depths emerged a giant shrimp.
It spoke in a human voice:
"Queen, your wish will be granted. But allow me, a humble shrimp, to accompany you to a magical palace that no mortal can see?"
"With pleasure!" replied the queen. "But I cannot swim underwater like you."
The shrimp laughed and transformed into a sweet old lady. When she stepped out of the water, her clothes were dry. She was dressed in a white gown with crimson stripes, and green ribbons were woven into her gray hair.
The queen followed her into the dense, wild forest. The magical path they walked on glowed beneath their feet, and orange trees formed a canopy above. The divine scent of blooming violets filled the air.
After some time, they arrived at a castle made of pure diamonds. The castle doors opened, and six beautiful fairies came out to greet the queen with a bouquet of flowers made of precious stones.
"Your Majesty," said the fairies, "only a few mortals can visit this palace. Your prayers for a child have touched our hearts. You will have a child named Feyf. When she is born, take the bouquet we have given you and loudly pronounce the name of each flower. We will appear immediately and bestow the finest gifts upon your child."
The queen was overjoyed. She thanked the fairies countless times for their kindness. Then, filled with happiness, she returned home.
Some time later, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Feyf. She immediately took out the bouquet and loudly pronounced the name of each flower.
Instantly, the room filled with fairies. They were accompanied by little pages carrying boxes of gifts.
There were baby clothes, booties, bonnets, and rattles. Everything was embroidered with gold and adorned with precious stones.
The fairies played with the child for a while, then got to work. One by one, they blessed her with kindness, intelligence, exceptional beauty, good fortune, and excellent health.
Before the queen could thank the fairies, the door burst open, and a giant shrimp rushed in, shouting angrily:
"And you forgot about me! You owe this happiness to me."
The queen was horrified.
"Oh, please forgive me," she pleaded. "I made a terrible mistake!"
The fairies joined her:
"Please forgive her. She didn't mean to."
"Well, alright," said the shrimp fairy. "I grant the child life. But I warn you, she must not see daylight until she is fifteen, or something terrible will happen. If you allow her to see the sun before then, beware!"
All the windows and doors in the royal palace were boarded up. Not a single ray of light could penetrate; only candles illuminated the palace rooms.
The girl grew up very clever and beautiful. The fairies often visited to see her and play with her. She was especially loved by a fairy named Tulip.
She constantly reminded the queen:
"Remember what the shrimp fairy said. Protect your daughter from daylight."
The queen promised to be careful.
When Feyf turned fourteen, the royal painter painted her portrait, and anyone who saw it immediately fell madly in love with her.
At that time, in another kingdom, there lived a prince named Volak. He was only eighteen, and upon seeing the portrait of Princess Feyf, he was overcome with passion and love. He went to his father, King Seju, and said:
"Father, I need your help. Here is the portrait of Princess Feyf. She has captured my heart. Give me your blessing; I want to marry her."
"What a beautiful girl, and surely very intelligent and kind," said the king. "I give you my parental blessing and will send Lord Kenvis as an envoy to her father."
Young Lord Kenvis was the prince's closest friend. The prince told him:
"If my life means anything to you, do everything to win the princess's heart. I will die if she does not become my wife."
He gave Kenvis a thousand beautiful gifts for the princess. Feyf's parents were very flattered when they learned that Prince Volak was courting their daughter. They knew he was the best, bravest, most truthful, and handsome prince in all the land.
The king and queen initially decided to show Feyf to Lord Kenvis, but the fairy Tulip warned them that it was not safe.
When the lord arrived at the palace, to his great astonishment, he was denied a meeting with the princess. The king told him the whole story about the fairies.
– But, Your Highness, – protested Kenvis, – Prince Volak is deeply in love. He cannot eat, drink, or sleep. He is very ill. Allow me to show you his portrait. Please understand, if you do not show Prince Feyf to him, he will die of longing.
– Poor prince, – said the king. – He is so madly in love with my daughter. I was young once too, and I know what love is. We will try to come up with something.
Feyf was shown the prince’s portrait, and she fell in love with him at first sight as well.
This conversation was overheard by Lady Weed, who had two daughters of the same age as Feyf. One was named Daisy, and she adored the princess, while the other was named Prickly, and she hated Feyf with all her heart. She too had seen the prince’s portrait and vowed to become his wife.
Unfortunately, Prickly’s godmother was a shrimp fairy. That night, Prickly went to her and said:
– Feyf is going to marry Prince Volak. But I want to be his wife myself. Can you help me with this?
– Of course! It would be my pleasure to ruin her dreams, – said the wicked fairy, whispering something into Prickly’s ear.
Meanwhile, Feyf was dreaming of Prince Volak. Finally, she came up with a plan to cure him of his illness. She went to her mother and said:
– We can deceive the wicked fairy. Send me to the prince in a carriage without windows and with a curtained door. I will go to him at night.
The king and queen agreed to the plan. They informed Kenvis, who, overjoyed, rushed home to deliver the happy news to the prince. The king ordered a closed carriage to be made. Inside, it was lined with green velvet and silver.
The keys to the carriage were handed to the eldest lord of the kingdom and locked in a box. When everything was ready, Feyf, along with Prickly, Daisy, and Lady Weed, boarded the carriage. The queen said to Lady Weed:
– I entrust you with the treasure of my life. Take care of her, and remember, she must not see daylight. The prince has already boarded up the windows in his palace and is preparing for the meeting.
Weed replied:
– Do not worry and trust me.
And they set off on their journey. After some time, Prickly whispered to her mother:
– Mother, we must do something urgently. If I do not become the prince’s wife, I will die.
Lady Weed pulled out a long knife she had hidden under her skirts and cut through the carriage’s lining.
Daylight poured in. Feyf immediately turned into a white deer, leaped out of the carriage, and disappeared into the forest.
The servants rushed to search for the white deer. But the wicked fairy summoned a storm and carried them all far, far away, to the other end of the world.
Only Lady Weed, Prickly, and Daisy remained. Prickly put on Feyf’s engagement ring and her crown. Soon, they saw the prince’s gilded carriage, as he eagerly awaited his beloved bride. Seeing Prickly, the old king exclaimed:
– What kind of joke is this?
Lady Weed replied with dignity:
– This is Princess Feyf, Your Highness. And here are letters from her father and mother to prove it.
The prince said:
– Father, they have deceived us. The portrait has nothing to do with the original. I would rather die than marry this monstrosity.
The king said:
– Until the circumstances are clarified, I will take the princess and her companions as prisoners and house them in the castle.
The prince, meanwhile, went to his country house in the forest to hunt and distract himself from unpleasant thoughts.
While walking in the forest, he suddenly felt weak and lay down on the ground. If only he knew that not far from that spot roamed his beloved princess, who had turned into a white deer, a creature that loved daylight more than anything in the world.
The fairy Tulip knew what had happened to Feyf. She sent Daisy to search for her beloved princess, and they met, weeping bitterly and embracing.
– My dear princess, – said Daisy. – I will stay with you forever and serve you eternally.
She led the white deer to a fruit orchard to eat from the trees and asked where they would spend the night, as there were many wolves in the forest and it was very frightening.
– Have you seen any cottage in this forest? – Daisy asked the deer. The deer merely shook its head.
Suddenly, the fairy Tulip appeared, touched by the friendship between the girl and the deer, and said:
– Every night, after sunset, Feyf will turn back into a girl. Now, follow this path and be brave and patient.
Daisy and the white deer soon came to a hut, where an elderly woman sat on the doorstep.
– Do you have a room for me and my deer? – asked Daisy.
– Of course, young lady, – replied the old woman. She led them to a small but very clean room with two beds standing side by side.
When the sun set, the white deer transformed into a princess, who threw her arms around Daisy’s neck and thanked her warmly for her help. They talked all night, and in the morning, Fayfe turned back into a deer and ran off into the forest to graze.
At the same time, the prince and Lord Canviss stumbled upon the same hut in search of lodging. The smiling old woman gave them food and assigned them a room right across from the girls’ room.
After a good night’s sleep, the young prince went hunting. Suddenly, he spotted a white deer grazing nearby. Taking aim, he shot at the deer, but it dodged and disappeared into the thicket.
That evening, when the deer returned home, it transformed into the princess, who told Daisy what had happened.
– Dear princess, – said Daisy. – Stay here, don’t go to the forest; it’s dangerous. I’ll read books to you, and time will fly by.
– I’d love to, – replied the princess. – But the thing is, when I turn into a deer, I feel like a deer. I need to run and graze.
Exhausted, she fell asleep immediately. Meanwhile, in the other room, the prince was talking about the marvelous deer he had seen that morning.
– Tomorrow, I’ll definitely shoot it, – he said.
The next morning, he set out to find the deer. But Fayfe was on guard and didn’t leave the thicket. The prince walked and walked until he collapsed from exhaustion under an apple tree and fell asleep.
At that moment, the white deer emerged from the thicket and approached the prince.
– He’s even more handsome than in the portrait, – thought Fayfe and lay down beside him.
Prince Volak woke up and was stunned – a white deer lay beside him. Before he could grab his bow, Fayfe bolted out of sight. The prince chased after her and shot an arrow. It struck the white deer in the leg, and it fell to the ground.
The prince was about to finish it off, but seeing the deer’s tearful, pleading eyes, he took pity and carried it to the hut.
Daisy, who ran out to meet him, shouted:
– That’s my deer! Give it to me!
– No, – replied the prince. – I caught it in the forest. It’s mine!
– I’d rather lose my life than my deer, – Daisy retorted. – Look how it recognizes me now.
She said:
– White deer, please give me your leg, – and the deer stretched out its wounded leg.
She said:
– White deer, do you love me? – and the deer nodded its head in agreement. The prince was amazed.
– I agree, – he said. – The deer is yours. I regret shooting it.
Daisy picked up the deer and carried it to her room. Meanwhile, Lord Canviss said to the young prince:
– I recognized that girl; she’s part of Princess Fayfe’s entourage. I saw her in the princess’s carriage. There’s something strange going on!
They asked the old woman which room the girls were staying in and made a hole in the wall. Peeking through, they saw Princess Fayfe sitting on the bed, with Daisy bandaging her leg.
The prince immediately rushed into the girls’ room and fell to his knees before the princess.
– Forgive me, – he cried. – I knew nothing about the deer. I’d rather die than harm you.
Fayfe told him all about her misfortunes. They talked all night, and in the morning, as the sun rose, the princess discovered that this time, she hadn’t turned into a deer. Their joy knew no bounds.
– We must inform my father, – said the prince. – He’s planning to wage war on your kingdom, accusing your parents of deceit.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of horns and saw the king himself riding toward them, with Prickly and her mother sitting in a cattle wagon.
– My dear father! – the prince rushed to him. – Here is my beloved Princess Fayfe. I’ve found her! – he exclaimed.
The king looked at the princess. She stood in a silver dress embroidered with fresh, fragrant roses, her head crowned with a diamond tiara. He had never seen such beauty. Nearby stood the fairy Tulip, who had been the old woman at the hut.
Everyone was happy. And Lord Canviss, moved by Daisy’s loyalty and kind heart, proposed to her, and the two happy couples were married in the palace chapel.
Prickly and her mother were forgiven and sent home. And the entire kingdom recounted the story of the magical white deer and its adventures, which had ended so happily.
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