Once there lived a poor cotter who had twelve daughters, two pairs of twins among them. They were all fair and healthy maidens, and extremely well-behaved.

Seeing what straitened circumstances they lived in, people were bound to wonder how the parents did manage to feed and clothe their children properly. They were always clean and well-groomed, and they wore clean white garments like the children of well-to-do people. Some suspected that the cotter had a secret treasure-bringer, others considered him to be a sorcerer, still others thought he was a goblin who, rushing about like whirlwind, raked together secret riches. But the truth was far from that.

The cotter's wife had a secret fortune-bringer who fed the children and took care of them. When, in her youth, she had been employed on a farm, a grand lady had appeared in her dream on three successive nights and ordered her to go to the spring near the village on St. John's Eve. She might have forgotten about the dream, had not a tiny voice urged her by the bonfire on Midsummer Eve, "Go to the spring, go to the spring where you will find your fortune."

Frightened as she was at this mysterious message, she plucked up her courage, left the other girls making merry at the swings and around the fire, and made for the spring. The nearer she got, the more scared she became. She would fain have returned, but the tiny voice in her ear drove her on.

Coming close to the spring, she saw a woman in white sitting on a stone. Perceiving fear in the girl's eyes the woman rose to her feet and took a few steps towards her, held out her hands to her and said, "Fear not my dear child. I shan't do you any harm. Listen attentively and remember my prophecy. This autumn a young man, as poor as yourself, will want to marry you. Accept the suitor. Both of you are good and decent people. Therefore I want to bring you happiness and success. But you should not live carefree and idle, or your fortune will not last long. Take this small pouch and put it in your pocket. It contains a few small common pebbles. When you have given birth to your first child, drop a pebble in the well, that I may come to see you. I also want to be its godmother. Let nobody hear a word of our talk tonight. Until then, good-bye!"

So saying the stranger vanished as if the earth had swallowed her. But for the pouch in her hand, the girl might have thought she had been dreaming. Opening the pouch she found twelve pebbles in it.

The prophecy of St. John's Eve came true: in autumn the girl got married to a poor farm-hand. The next year the young wife gave birth to her first baby daughter. Remembering what she had been asked to do on the memorable Midsummer night before her marriage, she got quietly out of bed, went to the well and dropped a pebble in it. As soon as the pebble splashed into the water, there stood the smiling lady dressed in white in front of her, saying,

"Thank you for remembering me. Send the infant to your parish church to be christened a fortnight on Sunday. I'll be present to be her godmother."

When the baby was taken to church, an unknown lady came up, took the infant and held it in her arms during the ceremony. After the ceremony she tied a large silver coin in its swaddling clothes and sent the daughter back to her mother. The same thing happened at the birth of each of her daughters until there were twelve of them. After the birth of the last baby the lady said to the mother,

"Never again will your eyes see me, although I shall be, invisibly, with you and your children every day. The wholesome water from the well will do them more good than the most expensive dishes. When the time comes for them to get married, you will have to give each of them my christening present. Put the silver coin in each dowry-chest. The greatest pride of their girlhood will be to wear the cleanest possible garments and kerchiefs whether on weekdays or on Sundays."

The children grew up strong and healthy. Bread was never lacking in their cottage, and often there was something tasty to go with it. Yet it seemed to be the water from their well that invigorated the children and their parents more than anything else.

Soon the eldest daughter was married to a resourceful young man, a farmer's son. Her dowry consisted of a few pieces of clothing; still a large chest was made and her things together with the godmother's present, the silver coin, were put in it. The wedding guests who helped carry the chest to the cart found it very heavy. They thought it was full of stones, for what dowry could a poor peasant be expected to give his daughter. However, there was no end of wondering when in her new home the young wife opened her dowry-chest to find it packed with rolls of linen and, in the bottom, a leather bag with a hundred silver coins in it.

The same thing happened to all the daughters, of whom none was allowed to remain long in the parents' house, once the story of the rich dowry came to be known.

But one of the sons-in-law happened to be very greedy: he was not satisfied with what the young wife brought with her in her chest. He thought to himself that her parents must have some hidden treasure at home if they were able to give each daughter such a generous dowry-chest.

Therefore, one day he went to see his father-in-law and demanded some more property of him. The old man told him truthfully, "I have no money to my soul, nor was I able to endow my daughters with more than a mere chest. The contents of the chest, the silver coin, was their godmother's present. It was out of that generous present that the dowry grew in the chest later."

The greedy son-in-law did not believe this account of his father-in-law. He threatened to take him to court, charging him with sorcery. The cotter was not discouraged by the threat, as he knew he was perfectly innocent. Nevertheless, the son-in-law brought an action against him. The judge had the other sons-in-law summoned to court and wanted to know if each of them had received such a large property. The men confirmed that each of them had come by a dowry-chest full of rolls of linen, and a hundred silver coins. Everybody marvelled at it, because the cotter was known to be a poor man with hardly any property but twelve pretty daughters. That the girls had always worn neat, clean garments was also known to the people. Yet nobody had seen them wear such luxuries as a silver brooch, or a bright-coloured scarf round their shoulders.

The judge decided to investigate the matter more closely to make sure whether the old man was really a sorcerer. Thus one day the judge, together with a number of servants, made for the peasant's cottage. Their plan was to besiege the house so that nobody could escape or conceal anything. The greedy son-in-law led the way.

When the party reached the edge of the forest in which the cottage stood, they set watchmen everywhere, so that even the smallest animal could not pass unnoticed. Leaving their horses behind, they proceeded along the path leading straight to the cottage. The son-in-law cautioned the others to walk noiselessly and to keep silent, lest the sorcerer should take to flight on the wings of the wind. As they came near they saw a strange brilliant glow behind the trees. It turned out to be a large magnificent palace built of glass and lit by hundreds of candles, though the sun was shining brightly. Two armoured warriors with drawn swords guarded the doors. The party was greatly puzzled. The whole affair seemed more like a dream than reality. Then a tall and handsome young man dressed in silk came out of the house and said,

"Her Majesty the Queen gave orders for the honourable judge to enter."

Apprehensively, the judge followed the young man. He found himself in an enormous hall, decorated with such grandour and brilliance as no words can describe. On the throne there sat the queen in a garment of silk, velvet and brocade with a golden crown on her head. On a platform a few feet below her sat twelve pretty young maidens dressed in beautiful clothes like the queen, but none of them wore a golden crown. On both sides there stood rows of servants clad in white silk robes with golden necklaces around their necks.

The judge stepped nearer and bowed before the queen.

"What has brought you here with such a number of servants as if you were after a villain?" the queen asked.

The judge made efforts to answer, but in vain. He had lost his tongue with fear and was not able to utter a word.

"I am well aware of the evil and false accusations round here," the queen continued, "because nothing ever remains concealed from my eyes. Have the untruthful informer brought here in chains. I will try him myself. The servants should also be present to witness that nobody is wronged here, and to give a truthful account later of what is going to happen here now."

One of the silk-clad servants left the room to carry out the orders. After a short while the denouncer was brought in by six armoured warriors. They were followed by the servants. Then the queen spoke,

"Before the wrong-doer receives the punishment he deserves, let me explain to you briefly the facts of the case. I am the Queen of Waters. I have power over all the springs that come bubbling from inside the earth. The eldest son of the King of Winds was my lover, but as his father had forbidden him to marry we had to keep our marriage secret as long as he lived. As it was impossible for me to bring up my children in my own home each time the cotter's wife delivered a child I exchanged my daughter for hers. The cotter's children were brought up in my aunt's family. When the time came for the peasant's daughters to get married, the exchange had to be reversed. In all cases, on the night before the wedding I had my own daughter brought back to me and replaced by the peasant's daughter. The old King of Winds had been laid up for some time, so he had no notion of our deception. On the day of baptism I gave each child a silver coin which was to multiply in her chest, so as to provide her dowry. All the husbands were content with their wives and what they brought along, except for this greedy man whom you see in chains. He brought a false accusation against his father-in-law, hoping in this manner to enlarge his property. Two weeks ago the old King of Winds died and was succeeded by my husband. Now there is no longer any need to conceal our marriage and the children. Here you can see all my twelve daughters. Their foster-parents are staying with us and I shall support them until the end of their days. But you, mischievous and vicious beast, will receive what you deserve. I will have you chained to a mountain of gold so that your greedy eyes will always see gold, but you can never touch any of it. For seven hundred years will you suffer the torture before death is allowed to relieve you. This is the judgment I pass."

When the queen came to this point there was a clap of thunder, the earth quaked and the judge, as well as the servants fell down stunned. When they recovered they found themselves in the wood where their guide had led them. And on the site of the grand glass palace there was bubbling a small spring with clear cold water.

The cotter, his wife and their greedy son-in-law were never seen or heard of again. The widow soon got married again and lived happily until her death.

Jason Ladock

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