In the old days, when wishing still helped, there was once a king who had beautiful daughters. The youngest of them was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much before, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Near the castle was a large, dark forest, and in the middle of it, under an old linden tree, was a well. When the day was really hot, the youngest princess would go out into the forest and sit at the edge of the cool fountain. And when she got bored, she would take a golden ball, throw it up, and catch it again.
