“Rosanella.” The Green Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1892, pp. 48-55.

Tale Summary

After the death of the Queen of Fairies, it became necessary to elect a new sovereign, and the final decision would name either the fairy Surcantine or the fairy Paridamie to the position. To decide, each fairy would produce a wonder, and whichever greater would be Queen. Surcantine would produce a prince who could never remain constant, and Paridamie would produce a princess so charming that everyone would fall in love with her. King Bardondon and his wife, Queen Balanice, had a little daughter named “Rosanella” (called so for a birthmark on her neck in the shape of a rose), and just after the assembly of fairies, she was stolen away in the night. The couple left for their palaces in the countryside, and one day, the Queen was met with twelve lovely peasant girls each carrying a basket for her. In each basket, was a baby, all with a flower birthmark. The Queen raised these twelve little girls, who each possessed their own personality as if each one of them embodied a certain quality, and they all were named after these traits (Joy, Grave, Sweet, and others). Meanwhile, Surcantine’s prince was a son of a king who was a cousin to Bardondon, named Prince Mirliflor, and was raised to be perfectly charming, and very handsome, the only thing lacking was constancy. By his eighteenth birthday, he had been with every girl in his kingdom and took a trip to see Bardondon’s court. He met the twelve lovely girls and was immediately taken with them. When he was sad he talked with Grave, he laughed with Sweet, looked at Beauty, and held the hand of Loving. One day, the Queen gave a garden party with all in attendance, but it was interrupted by a swarm of giant bees, which carried away all twelve princesses. The prince was inconsolable and found no happiness anywhere or in anyone. One day, Paridamie arrived with a beautiful princess, who she told the Queen is her daughter, Rosanella, whom she stole from the cradle. Rosanella and Mirliflor met each other, and he found that she embodied all of the individual qualities of the twelve princesses in one person. He asked for her hand in marriage, and Paridamie wins the competition.