But it was only the emperor going to hunt with his friends and attendants. As they were looking about to find where the largest berries grew they heard the tramp of horses approaching, so loud that you would have thought a whole army was riding by. One summer day, when the rays of the sun were pouring down on the earth, the three sisters went to the wood on the outskirts of the mountain to pick strawberries. But Laptitza, the youngest, with a skin as white as the foam on the milk, and with hair as soft as the finest lamb's wool, was as beautiful as both her sisters put together-as beautiful as she alone could be.

Stana, the second, was so beautiful that when she was driving the flock the wolves protected the sheep. Well, once upon a time there lived an emperor who had half a world all to himself to rule over, and in this world dwelt an old herd and his wife and their three daughters, Anna, Stana, and Laptitza.Īnna, the eldest, was so beautiful that when she took the sheep to pasture they forgot to eat as long as she was walking with them. Once upon a time what happened did happen: and if it had not happened, you would never have heard this story. The Violet Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang,, at Sacred Texts Legends and Sagas Lang Fairy Books Index Previous Next

The golden star