Kletke . Once upon a time there were three Princesses who were all three young and beautiful ; but the youngest , although she was not fairer than the other two , was the most loveable of them all . About half a mile from the palace in which they lived there stood a castle , which was uninhabited and almost a ruin , but the garden which surrounded it was a mass of blooming flowers , and in this garden the youngest Princess used often to walk . One day when she was pacing to and fro under the lime trees , a black crow hopped out of a rose-bush in front of her . The poor beast was all torn and bleeding , and the kind little Princess was quite unhappy about it . When the crow saw this it turned to her and said : ' I am not really a black crow , but an enchanted Prince , who has been doomed to spend his youth in misery . If you only liked , Princess , you could save me . But you would have to say good-bye to all your own people and come and be my constant companion in this ruined castle . There is one habitable room in it , in which there is a golden bed ; there you will have to live all by yourself , and do n't forget that whatever you may see or hear in the night you must not scream out , for if you give as much as a single cry my sufferings will be doubled . ' The good-natured Princess at once left her home and her family and hurried to the ruined castle , and took possession of the room with the golden bed . When night approached she lay down , but though she shut her eyes tight sleep would not come . At midnight she heard to her great horror some one coming along the passage , and in a minute her door was flung wide open and a troop of strange beings entered the room . They at once proceeded to light a fire in the huge fireplace ; then they placed a great cauldron of boiling water on it . When they had done this , they approached the bed on which the trembling girl lay , and , screaming and yelling all the time , they dragged her towards the cauldron . She nearly died with fright , but she never uttered a sound . Then of a sudden the cock crew , and all the evil spirits vanished . At the same moment the crow appeared and hopped all round the room with joy . It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness , and said that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened . Now one of the Princess 's elder sisters , who was very inquisitive , had found out about everything , and went to pay her youngest sister a visit in the ruined castle . She implored her so urgently to let her spend the night with her in the golden bed , that at last the good-natured little Princess consented .
But XXXXX midnight , when the odd folk appeared , the elder sister screamed with terror , and from this time on the youngest Princess insisted always on keeping watch alone .
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