THE+BOYS+WITH+THE+GOLDEN+STARS

A Romanian fairy tale A herdsman had three daughters and the youngest was the most beautiful. One day, the King rode by with his attendants and met those three girls. The oldest girl said to the King that if he married her, she would make him a loaf of bread that would make him young and brave forever. The second girl said that if he married her, she would make him a shirt that would protect him from any injury and against heat and water. The youngest girl said that she would bear the King twin sons with stars on their foreheads if he married her. The King married the youngest girl and two of his friends married the other two sisters. The King’s stepmother had wanted him to marry her daughter and so she hated his new wife. She got her brother to declare war on the King, to get him away from his new wife. The Quinn gave birth in his absence and his stepmother took away the new born twins and buried them in the corner of the garden and put two puppies in their place. The King when he returned had to punish his wife to show what happens to those who try to deceive the King. Two beautiful Aspen trees grew from the grave, putting on a years’ growth in hours (very, very quickly). The two Aspens were very high with large branches which shaded the windows of the King’s rooms sheltering them from the sun. The brunches were of a lovely light green. When they reflected the light of the moon, all seemed a magnificent picture. However the stepmother wanted to chop them down but the King didn’t agree to this for a long time. Finally the stepmother succeeded, on the condition that she makes two beds from the wood-one for the King and one for her. In the night, the beds began to talk to each other. Then the stepmother was nervous of the voices and so made two new identical beds and burned the beds to ash. While they were burning, the two brightest sparks flew off and fell into the river near the castle. They became two golden fish. When the fishermen caught them, they wanted to take the fish directly to the King. The fish told the fishermen to let them swim in dew and then dry out in the sun. When they did this, the fish were turned back into two babies with golden stars in their foreheads and they grew into men within days into men. Wearing lambskin caps that covered their hair and stars, they went to their father’s castle and forced their way in. Despite their refusal to take off their caps, the King listened to their story. Finally they took off their caps. The King executed his stepmother and took back his wife. This fairy tale tells us that good always defeats evil. Written by: Cristian Rosca
 * THE BOYS WITH THE GOLDEN STARS **