The Goose Girl(Part5)
A strong wind suddenly arose and carried away the boy's hat, forcing him to chase after it for a while. The young girl gently combed her hair, braided it, and the king witnessed all of this. Then, without anyone seeing her, she returned to the palace. In the evening, when the goose girl arrived at the palace, the girl pulled her aside and asked her the reason for her behavior. The girl replied, "I have no right to tell you, and I cannot even share my suffering with anyone; because I have sworn before God, and otherwise I would be killed." The king insisted and did not leave her in peace; however, she did not utter a word before this. Then the king said, "If you do not want to share your sorrow and pain with me, tell it to this stove," and he left.
The girl then approached the stove and began to weep and lament, revealing her heart's secret: “I have been cast out from everywhere, yet I am a king's daughter, and a treacherous maidservant forced me to strip off my royal garments and exchange my clothes with hers. She took my place beside my fiancé, while I must now carry out the lowly work of a goose girl. If my mother knew of this, her heart would shatter into a thousand pieces.”
Meanwhile, the king had hidden behind the stove and was listening to the girl's words. Then he pulled her away from the stove and dressed her in royal garments, so that everyone was astonished by her beauty. The king summoned his son and told him that the false bride was beside him and that she was merely a maidservant, while the real bride had been working as a goose girl until then. The prince was overjoyed to see the extraordinary beauty and piety of the princess. Then a grand celebration was held, inviting many dignitaries and good friends.
The prince sat at the head of the table, with the princess on one side and the maidservant on the other. However, the maidservant, who did not see clearly, did not recognize the princess in her stunning dress. After they had eaten and drunk and were merry and joyful, the king posed a riddle: "What is the punishment for someone who has betrayed and deceived their benefactor in this way?" He then narrated all that had happened and asked the maidservant, "What punishment does such a person deserve?" The false bride replied, “The only appropriate punishment is to strip them naked and throw them into a barrel full of sharp nails, and to tie the barrel to two white horses to drag them from alley to alley until they die.”
Then the king said, "This person is you, and you have declared your own punishment; what you have said will happen to you." After the execution of the sentence, the prince married his true bride, and they ruled together in peace and happiness in the kingdom.
