ar Madame la Comtesse d'Aulnoy.

THE WATER-LILY. THE GOLD-SPINNERS

Once upon a time, in a large forest, there lived an old woman and
three maidens. They were all three beautiful, but the youngest was the
fairest. Their hut was quite hidden by trees, and none saw their beauty
but the sun by day, and the moon by night, and the eyes of the stars.
The old woman kept the girls hard at work, from morning till night,
spinning gold flax into yarn, and when one distaff was empty another was
given them, so they had no rest. The thread had to be fine and even, and
when done was locked up in a secret chamber by the old woman, who twice
or thrice every summer went a journey. Before she went she gave out work
for each day of her absence, and always returned in the night, so that
the girls never saw what she brought back with her, neither would she
tell them whence the gold flax came, nor what it was to be used for.

Now, when the time came round for the old woman to set out on one of
these journeys, she gave each maiden work for six days, with the usual
warning: "Children, don't let your eyes wander, and on no account speak
to a man, for, if you do, your thread will lose its brightness, and
misfortunes of all kinds will follow." They laughed at this oft-repeated
caution, saying to each other: "How can our gold thread lose its
brightness, and have we any chance of speaking to a man?"

On the third day after the old woman's departure a young prince, hunting
in the forest, got separated from his companions, and completely lost.
Weary of seeking his way, he flung himself down under a tree, leaving
his horse to browse at will, and fell asleep.

The sun had set when he awoke and began once more to try and find his
way out of the forest. At last he perceived a narrow foot-path, which he
eagerly followed and found that it led him to a small hut. The maidens,
who were sitting at the door of their hut for coolness, saw him
approaching, and the two elder were much alarmed, for they remembered
the old woman's warning; but the youngest said: "Never before have I
seen anyone like him; let me have one look." They entreated her to come
in, but, seeing that she would not, left her, and the Prince, coming up,
courteously greeted the maiden, and told her he had lost his way in the
forest and was both hungry and weary. She set food before him, and
was so delighted with his conversation that she forgot the old woman's
caution, and lingered f