heir living by spinning. One day their father died and left them all
alone in the world. Now the king had a habit of going about the
streets at night, and listening at the doors to hear what the people
said of him. So one night he listened at the door of the house where
the three sisters lived, and heard them disputing. The oldest said:
"If I were the wife of the royal butler, I could give the whole court
to drink out of one glass of water, and there would be some left."

The second said: "If I were the wife of the keeper of the royal
wardrobe, with one piece of cloth I could clothe all the attendants,
and have some left."

But the youngest daughter said: "Were I the king's wife, I would bear
him two children: a son with a sun on his forehead, and a daughter
with a moon on her brow."

The king went back to his palace, and the next morning sent for the
sisters, and said to them: "Do not be frightened, but tell me what you
said last night." The oldest told him what she had said, and the king
had a glass of water brought, and commanded her to prove her words.
She took the glass, and gave all the attendants some water to drink,
and still there was some water left.

"Bravo!" cried the king, and summoned the butler. "This is your
husband. Now it is your turn," said the king to the next sister, and
commanded a piece of cloth to be brought, and the young girl at once
cut out garments for all the attendants, and had some cloth left.

"Bravo!" cried the king again, and gave her the keeper of the wardrobe
for her husband. "Now it is your turn," said the king to the
youngest.

"Please your Majesty, I said that if I were the king's wife, I would
bear him two children: a son with a sun on his forehead, and a
daughter with a moon on her brow."

"If that is true," replied the king, "you shall be my queen; if not,
you shall die," and straightway he married her.

Very soon the two older sisters began to be envious of the youngest.
"Look," said they; "she is going to be queen, and we must be
servants!" and they began to hate her. A few months before the queen's
children were to be born, the king declared war, and was obliged to go
with his army, but he left word that if the queen had two children: a
son with a sun on his forehead, and a girl with a moon on her brow,
the mother was to be respected as queen; if not, he was to be informed
of it, and would tell his servants what to do. Then he departed for
the war.

When the queen