The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces (Grimm)
Short summary
A king had twelve beautiful daughters whose shoes were mysteriously worn out every morning. He proclaimed that whoever discovered where they danced at night could marry one and become king, but failure within three days meant death. Many princes tried and failed, losing their lives.
A poor wounded soldier met an old woman who advised him not to drink the wine the princesses would offer and gave him an invisibility cloak. Pretending to sleep after secretly pouring away the wine, he followed the princesses through a trapdoor beneath the eldest's bed. They descended to magical avenues of silver, gold, and diamond trees, where he broke twigs as proof. Twelve princes rowed them across a lake to a castle where they danced until dawn.
After three nights, the soldier presented his evidence to the king.
When they saw that they were betrayed, and that falsehood would be of no avail, they were obliged to confess all.
The soldier chose the eldest daughter as his bride and was promised the kingdom.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The mystery of the dancing shoes and the failed suitors
A king had twelve daughters who lived together in one chamber with their beds arranged side by side.
Every night he locked and bolted their door, but each morning he discovered a puzzling mystery.
But in the morning when he unlocked the door, he saw that their shoes were worn out with dancing, and no one could find out how that had come to pass.
Determined to solve this mystery, the king made a proclamation offering great rewards to whoever could discover where his daughters danced at night.
Then the King caused it to be proclaimed that whosoever could discover where they danced at night, should choose one of them for his wife and be King after his death.
However, failure meant death within three days. A king's son accepted the challenge first.
He was placed in a room adjoining the princesses' chamber to observe their activities, but his eyelids grew heavy as lead and he fell asleep. For three nights he failed to stay awake, and each morning the shoes showed signs of dancing. His head was struck off without mercy, and many others who attempted the enterprise met the same fate.
The soldier receives magical help
A poor wounded soldier who could no longer serve found himself traveling to the king's town. On the road, he met an old woman who asked about his destination.
Half-jokingly, he mentioned his idea to discover where the princesses danced their shoes to pieces. The old woman revealed this was not so difficult and gave him crucial advice.
That is not so difficult... you must not drink the wine which will be brought to you at night, and must pretend to be sound asleep.
She also gave him a magical cloak that would make him invisible, allowing him to follow the twelve princesses. Armed with this advice and magical aid, the soldier went to the king and announced himself as a suitor.
Discovery of the underground kingdom
The soldier was well received and given royal garments. That evening, he was conducted to the antechamber. When the eldest princess brought him wine, he secretly let it run into a sponge tied under his chin without drinking a drop. He then lay down and began snoring loudly, pretending to be in deep sleep.
Hearing his snores, the twelve princesses laughed and prepared for their nightly adventure. They dressed in beautiful gowns and rejoiced at the prospect of dancing. Only the youngest expressed unease, sensing that some misfortune was about to befall them.
Only the youngest said, 'I know not how it is; you are very happy, but I feel very strange; some misfortune is certainly about to befall us.'
The eldest dismissed her fears, confident that the soldier was deeply asleep. After checking that he remained motionless, the eldest went to her bed and tapped it. The bed immediately sank into the earth, creating an opening through which all twelve descended, with the eldest leading the way. The invisible soldier followed, putting on his magical cloak and going down last with the youngest. Halfway down, he accidentally stepped on her dress, terrifying her, but the eldest dismissed it as catching on a nail. At the bottom, they found themselves in a wonderfully beautiful avenue of trees with silver leaves that shone and glistened.
They were standing in a wonderfully pretty avenue of trees, all the leaves of which were of silver, and shone and glistened.
The soldier broke off a silver twig as proof, causing a loud crack that alarmed the youngest, but the eldest claimed it was a celebratory gunshot. They continued through avenues of golden trees and then diamond trees, with the soldier collecting twigs from each while the youngest grew increasingly frightened by the mysterious sounds. Finally, they reached a great lake where twelve boats waited, each containing a handsome prince.
Each prince took one of the princesses into his boat, while the soldier seated himself beside the youngest. Her prince noticed the boat was unusually heavy and had to row with all his strength. They crossed to a splendid, brightly lit castle where joyous music played. Inside, each prince danced with his beloved princess, while the invisible soldier danced among them unseen, drinking from their wine cups so they found them empty when brought to their lips. They danced until three in the morning, when their shoes were completely worn through and they were forced to stop. The princes rowed them back across the lake, and this time the soldier sat with the eldest. On shore, the princesses promised to return the following night before climbing back up the stairs to their chamber.
The truth revealed and justice served
The soldier ran ahead and lay in his bed, snoring loudly when the weary princesses returned. They felt safe, believing he remained oblivious to their secret. For two more nights, the soldier repeated his observations, each time watching the same magical proceedings and collecting additional evidence. On the third night, he took a cup from the castle as final proof. When the time came to give his answer to the king, the soldier presented the three twigs and the cup as tokens. He revealed that the twelve daughters had been dancing in an underground castle with twelve princes, explaining exactly how everything had transpired. The king summoned his daughters, and when confronted with the evidence, they were forced to confess the truth. The king asked the soldier which daughter he would choose as his wife, and the soldier, acknowledging he was no longer young, requested the eldest. The wedding was celebrated that very day, and the kingdom was promised to him after the king's death. As for the twelve princes, they remained bewitched for as many days as they had danced nights with the princesses.