One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes (Grimm)
Short summary
A fairy tale kingdom, medieval times. A woman had three daughters: One-Eye with one eye, Two-Eyes with two normal eyes, and Three-Eyes with three eyes. Two-Eyes was mistreated by her family for being ordinary.
While tending the goat and crying from hunger, Two-Eyes met a wise woman who taught her a magic rhyme. The goat would produce a table with delicious food when she spoke the words. Her sisters spied on her. Three-Eyes discovered the secret by pretending to sleep while keeping one eye open. The envious mother cried:
"Dost thou want to fare better than we do? The desire shall pass away," and she fetched a butcher's knife, and thrust it into the heart of the goat, which fell down dead.
The wise woman told Two-Eyes to bury the goat's entrails. A magnificent tree with silver leaves and golden apples grew overnight. Only Two-Eyes could pick the fruit. A knight arrived, and Two-Eyes gave him a branch. He married her and took her away. The tree followed her to the castle. Years later, her impoverished sisters came begging, and Two-Eyes forgave them.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The three sisters and Two-Eyes suffering
A woman lived with her three daughters, each named for the number of eyes she possessed. The eldest daughter was called One-eye because she had only one eye in the middle of her forehead, and the youngest was called Three-eyes because she had three eyes, with the third also in the center of her forehead. The middle daughter, Two-eyes, had two normal eyes like ordinary people.
Because Two-eyes appeared normal, her mother and sisters despised her and treated her cruelly.
They said to her, "Thou, with thy two eyes, art no better than the common people; thou dost not belong to us!" They pushed her about, and threw old clothes to her
The wise womans magical gift
One day, while tending the goat in the fields and weeping from hunger and mistreatment, Two-eyes encountered a mysterious woman who asked why she was crying. After hearing her troubles, the wise woman taught her a magical incantation.
The wise woman instructed Two-eyes to say to her goat:
"Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat,"
This would summon a table laden with delicious food. When finished eating, she could make it disappear with another verse. Two-eyes tested the magic immediately and found it worked perfectly, providing her with abundant nourishment.
The sisters failed attempts to spy on Two-Eyes
Two-eyes began leaving her meager meals untouched, which aroused her family's suspicion. They decided to send One-eye to spy on her while she tended the goat. However, Two-eyes cleverly sang a lullaby that put One-eye to sleep, allowing her to use the magic undetected.
When One-eye failed to discover anything, the mother sent Three-eyes on the next day. Two-eyes began singing the same sleep-inducing song, but made a crucial mistake. Instead of addressing all three eyes, she sang about two eyes sleeping, leaving Three-eyes' third eye awake to witness everything.
Three-eyes reported the magical secret to their mother, revealing how Two-eyes summoned the table with food. The envious mother flew into a rage and immediately killed the goat with a butcher's knife, destroying Two-eyes' source of sustenance.
The goats death and the golden trees growth
Devastated by the loss of her goat, Two-eyes wept bitterly. The wise woman appeared again and advised her to ask her sisters for the goat's entrails and bury them in front of the house. Two-eyes followed this counsel, and the next morning a magnificent tree had grown from the spot.
Next morning...there stood a strangely magnificent tree with leaves of silver, and fruit of gold hanging among them, so that in all the wide world there was nothing more beautiful
The mother commanded One-eye and Three-eyes to climb the tree and gather its golden fruit, but the branches always moved away from their grasp. When Two-eyes offered to try, her sisters mocked her, but the golden apples came willingly into her hands, allowing her to fill her apron with fruit.
The knights arrival and Two-Eyes rescue
One day a handsome knight approached and admired the beautiful tree. When he asked for a branch, One-eye and Three-eyes claimed ownership but could not break off even a twig. They quickly hid Two-eyes under a barrel to avoid shame, but she rolled golden apples to the knight's feet.
Curious about the apples' source, the knight demanded to see Two-eyes. When she emerged, he was struck by her beauty. She easily broke off a silver branch with golden fruit for him. Moved by her plea for rescue from her suffering, the knight took her away to his castle and married her.
The sisters poverty and Two-Eyes forgiveness
The magical tree followed Two-eyes to her new home, appearing outside her castle window. Years later, One-eye and Three-eyes, now reduced to poverty, came begging at Two-eyes' door.