Serbian Folk-lore. Anonymous

every one, men and women, wondered much at her beauty and her splendid clothes, but no one knew who she was or whence she came. The king’s son, who happened to be there, looked at her all the time and admired her greatly. Before the service was ended she stood up and quietly left the church. She then ran away home, and as soon as she got there took off her fine clothes and again laid them in the box, which instantly shut itself and disappeared.

      Then she hurried to the hearth and found the dinner quite ready, all the millet gathered up, and everything in very good order. Soon after the stepmother came back with her daughter from the church, and was extremely surprised to find all the millet picked up and everything so well arranged.

      Next Sunday the stepmother and her daughter again dressed themselves to go to church, and, before she went away, the stepmother threw much more millet about the floor, and said to her step-daughter, ‘If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and get everything into the best order, I shall kill you.’ When they were gone, the girl instantly ran to her mother’s grave, and there found the box open as before, with the two doves sitting on its lid. The doves said to her, ‘Dress yourself, Mary, and go to church; we will pick up all the millet and arrange everything.’ Then she took from the box silver clothes, and having dressed herself, went to church. In the church everyone, as before, admired her very much, and the king’s son never moved his eyes from her. Just before the end of the service the girl again got up very quietly and stole through the crowd. When she got out of church she ran away very quickly, took off the clothes, laid them in the box, and went into the kitchen. When the stepmother and her daughter came home, they were more surprised than before; the millet was gathered up, dinner was ready, and everything in the very best order. They wondered very much how it was all done.

      On the third Sunday the stepmother dressed herself to go with her daughter to church, and again scattered millet about on the ground, but this time far more than on the other Sundays. Before she went out she said to her step-daughter, ‘If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and have everything in order when I come from church, I will kill you!’ The instant they were gone, the girl ran to her mother’s grave, and found the box open with the two white doves sitting on the lid. The doves told her to dress herself and go to church, and to have no care about the millet or dinner.

      This time she took clothes of all real gold out of the box, and, having put them on, went away to the church. In the church all the people looked at her and admired her exceedingly. Now the king’s son had resolved not to let her slip away as before, but to watch where she went. So, when the service was nearly ended, and she stood up to leave the church, the king’s son followed her, but was not able to reach her. In pushing through the crowd, however, Mary somehow in her hurry lost the slipper from her right foot and had no time to look for it. This slipper the king’s son found, and took care of it. When the girl got home she took off the golden clothes and laid them in the box, and went immediately to the fire in the kitchen.

      The king’s son, having determined to find the maiden, went all over the kingdom, and tried the slipper on every girl, but in some cases it was too long, in others too short, and, in fact, it did not fit any of them. As he was thus going about from one house to the other, the king’s son came at last to the house of the girl’s father, and the stepmother, seeing the king’s son coming, hid her step-daughter in a wash-trough before the house. When the king’s son came in with the slipper and asked if there were any girl in the house, the woman answered ‘Yes,’ and brought out her own daughter. But when the slipper was tried it was found it would not go even over the girl’s toes. Then the king’s son asked if no other girl was there, and the stepmother said, ‘No, there is no other in the house.’ At that moment the cock sprung upon the wash-trough, and crowed out ‘Cock-a-doodle-do!—here she is under the wash-trough!’

      The stepmother shouted, ‘Go away! may the eagle fly away with you!’ But the king’s son, hearing that, hurried to the wash-trough, and lifted it up, and what did he see there! The same girl who had been in the church, in the same golden clothes in which she had appeared the third time there, but lying under the trough, and with only one slipper on. When the king’s son saw her, he nearly lost his senses for the moment, he was so very glad. Then he quickly tried to place the slipper he carried on her right foot, and it fitted her exactly, besides perfectly matching with the other slipper on her left foot. Then he took her away with him to his palace and married her.