An old nobleman lived in a large mansion, where he mourned for the death of his beloved daughter so much that his beard grew long. It got caught in the cracks on the floor and his tears cut a groove so that it became a stream! He had a grand-daughter, but he didn’t wish to see her face at all because his daughter had died when she was born. She was completely neglected and unloved, except by her old nurse, who gave her scraps to eat from the kitchen and stitched up rags to make a dress for her. The servants also laughed at the poor girl and called her ‘Tattercoats.’ Her only friend was a little gooseherd, who played a pipe sweetly and she forgot all her sorrow, dancing merrily to the music! One day, the nobleman was invited for a ball at the King’s castle. The Prince was to select a bride.
The Transformation
The old nobleman got his hair trimmed and bought new dresses to go to the King’s ball, but when the nurse begged that the little girl may be taken too, she was sent away rudely. Tattercoats ran to the gooseherd to cry her heart out. He played upon his pipe and she danced, forgetting her grief. The Prince rode by and stopped, charmed by the music. And watching Tattercoats, he fell in love with her. He told her to come to the ball at midnight, dressed exactly as she was, with the gooseherd and his geese. She went as he asked, and there, before the King and the nobles, the Prince presented her as his bride. The gooseherd’s pipe was heard and her dress changed into a beautiful gown, gleaming with jewels! Everyone was amazed. No one saw the gooseherd ever again and the old nobleman returned to his mansion. But Tattercoats and the Prince were very happy!
