In the North where the thickly-needled pine forests are deep and dark and the snow falls bride-white there once lived three Princesses daughters of a King and Queen All three were beautiful but with her long fair hair and her dreamy eyes the youngest was the fairest by far And her father loved her best One night the youngest Princess dreamt of a golden crown and the gold of the crown was brighter than the sun itself When she awoke there was nothing she wanted more than to go back to sleep and keep company with her dream When the King heard about his daughter’s dream he ordered all his smiths and craftsmen to forge fine crowns But some crowns were too big and others were too small some were too intricate and others were too plain None of the crowns made at her father’s command were as fine as the one the Princess had dreamt about
One day as she was walking in the forest the Princess came across a great bear with a shaggy snow-white pelt and huge paddle paws He tossed into the air a crown of gold the crown of the Princess’s dream Bear give me that crown the Princess cried This crown is not for sale not for gold or for money he growled but I will give it to you in exchange for yourself The Princess agreed at once and the bear promised to fetch her in one week’s time But when the bear came the King barred the castle gate and set soldiers to guard it The bear splintered the gate and knocked all the soldiers to the ground And so the King sent out his eldest daughter The Princess climbed upon the bear’s great shaggy back They rode and they rode over the bride-white snow and through the thickly-needled forest Then the bear called Are you afraid Yes cried the girl and the bear shook her from his back Then you are not the one he muttered And he returned to the King’s castle
