THE TWELVE WILD DUCKS

Once on a time there was a Queen who was out driving, when there had
been a new fall of snow in the winter; but when she had gone a little
way, she began to bleed at the nose, and had to get out of her
sledge. And so, as she stood there, leaning against the fence, and
saw the red blood on the white snow, she fell a-thinking how she had
twelve sons and no daughter, and she said to herself:

'If I only had a daughter as white as snow and as red as blood, I
shouldn't care what became of all my sons.'

But the words were scarce out of her mouth before an old witch of the
Trolls came up to her.

'A daughter you shall have', she said, 'and she shall be as white as
snow, and as red as blood; and your sons shall be mine, but you may
keep them till the babe is christened.'

So when the time came the Queen had a daughter, and she was as white
as snow, and as red as blood, just as the Troll had promised, and so
they called her 'Snow-white and Rosy-red.' Well, there was great joy
at the King's court, and the Queen was as glad as glad could be; but
when what she had promised to the old witch came into her mind, she
sent for a silversmith, and bade him make twelve silver spoons, one
for each prince, and after that she bade him make one more, and that