In a castle far away lived Princess Isabella. She was very beautiful and kind. The people in the kingdom loved her. But there was a wicked witch who lived in a forest near by, who was very jealous of Isabella.
If she had something that belonged to someone else, the witch could transform herself. She tried it out by taking a feather from a pigeon. Then she cast a spell and caught the pigeon and became the pigeon herself. Now, she wanted to transform herself into Princess Isabella.
In the form of a pigeon, she flew into the castle and searched for the princess. She found her walking in the garden, talking to some of her friends. The witch decided to wait for night to fall.
At night, the princess came into her room, changed into a night gown and put all her jewels into a box on the table. Her shoes were put away and she put on slippers and got into bed. The witch-pigeon watched her and wondered what she could carry away with her. She went to the jewel box and found a pearl necklace there. Picking it up in her beak, she flew back to her cottage.
The next morning, the princess was woken up as usual. No one knew it was the witch who had become the princess. The real Princess Isabella was a prisoner in the witch’s cottage, guarded by her black cat, Inky, and an owl.
Prince Frederick was in love with Princess Isabella and came to meet her. When he met the false princess, he felt that something was wrong. The princess seemed to have changed.
He spied on the witch and soon learnt the truth. First, he had to find the real princess.
He hid himself in the chamber of the princess and watched the witch. At night, she turned into a pigeon and flew out of the window. She came back in a couple of hours.
The next night, he followed the witch to her hut in the forest. Peeping in, the Prince saw that Isabella was kept inside a large cauldron. An owl sat on the rim of the cauldron, to peck at her if she tried to escape. The witch had worn a necklace of pearls that the Prince recognised.
As she came out of the hut to turn into a pigeon, the Prince killed her with his sword. He picked up the necklace and the spell broke. He took Isabella back to the castle, where they married and lived happily ever after.
