Then a silvery veil seemed to be drawn over the ladies , and they vanished from sight . But the young man remained where he was till the sun was high in the heavens , and then went home . He felt that day to be endless , and counted the minutes till night should come , and he might return to the forest . But when at last he got there he found neither pavilions nor nymphs , and though he went back many nights after he never saw them again . Still , he thought about them night and day , and ceased to care about anything else in the world , and was sick to the end of his life with longing for that beautiful vision . And that was the way he learned that the wizard had spoken truly when he said , ` Blindness is man 's highest good . ' -LRB- Ehstnische Marchen . -RRB- THE BOYS WITH THE GOLDEN STARS Once upon a time what happened did happen : and if it had not happened , you would never have heard this story . 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 . Anna , 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 . Stana , the second , was so beautiful that when she was driving the flock the wolves protected the sheep . 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 . 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 . 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 . But it was only the emperor going to hunt with his friends and attendants . They were all fine handsome young men , who sat their horses as if they were part of them , but the finest and handsomest of all was the young emperor himself . As they drew near the three sisters , and marked their beauty , they checked their horses and rode slowly by . ` Listen , sisters ! ' said Anna , as they passed on . ` If one of those young men should make me his wife , I would bake him a loaf of bread which should keep him young and brave for ever . '
` And if I , ' said Stana , ` should be the one chosen , I would weave my husband a shirt which will keep him unscathed when he fights XXXXX dragons ; when he goes through water he will never even be wet ; or if through fire , it will not scorch him . '
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