Once, there was a kingdom, where – as in every kingdom – there lived servants, subjects, pages, knights and, of course, the king and queen.
The royal couple were lucky enough to have triplets – three adorable princesses who looked exactly the same. Well, almost exactly. The one difference between them was the colour of their hair. One was dark-haired, the second was blonde, and the third had red hair.
When the princess sisters were ten years old, the king organized a grand feast in honour of their big birthday. He invited all of the neighbouring kings and many, many other guests.
The king absolutely loved hunting and very often got so caught up in the excitement of the hunt that he did not know when to stop. He and his retinue often caught such a quantity of game that it would have been enough for ten feasts! However, the forest was cared for by one of the lords, who did not much like the king’s hunts. When he heard that another hunt was planned ready for the big feast, his patience ran out.
Early in the morning the king and his gentlemen, dressed for the hunt, gathered in the courtyard of the royal castle. The mood was cheerful, music was playing, everyone was laughing and joking. All of a sudden, a strong wind blew in through the gates, so strong that it startled the horses. The lord of the forest came riding into the courtyard unexpectedly.
“Listen to me, Your Majesty,” his voice thundered. The music instantly fell silent, and the king’s gentlemen froze in fear. “You are greedy, and with your greedy hunting you bring harm to the inhabitants of the forest. I warn you, if you enter my forest again to kill the…