“What Came of Picking Flowers.” The Allies' Fairy Book, introduction by Edmund Gosse, London: William Heinemann., Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott., 1916, pp. 77-83.

Tale Summary

Once upon a time, the eldest of three sisters went for a walk and picked a pink flower. She disappeared completely, and so the second oldest sister searched for her but plucked a rosebush and then she, too, disappeared. The youngest sister also set out on their path and vanished after picking a branch of jasmine. After many years, their younger brother grew up to be a tall youth, and his mother told him the story of how his sisters had disappeared. He decided to set out on a quest to find them, and encountered three boys fighting each other on the road. They told him that their father had died and left them with a cap that could turn them invisible, shoes that could instantly transport the wearer anywhere, and a key that could unlock any door, but the three of them could not decide how to allocate them amongst themselves. The youth said that he would throw a stone, and whoever reached it first would have all of them. When he threw it, he grabbed the three things and wished himself to be taken to his eldest sister. He found himself at a castle, and unlocked the door with his magic key, and discovered inside a beautiful and well dressed young lady. The youth explained that he was her brother, and while she was delighted, she explained that her husband had a spell on him that could not be broken until there should be put to death a man who could not die. Suddenly the door flew open and a bird flew which turned into a handsome man. The youth had his invisibility cap on, but the man could sense someone was in the room and his wife told him after much entreatment that it was her brother. The youth came forward and the husband was glad to see him, and gave him one of his feathers, telling him that if he were ever in danger he should cry: “Come and help me, King of the Birds” and he would be aided. The youth then asked the boots to take him to the location of his second eldest sister, and came to another castle. She was living there happily with her husband, who was under a spell which made him a fish. The youth was welcomed heartily, and the fish husband gave him a fish scale and told him if ever he was in trouble he should say: “Come and help me, King of the Fishes” and everything would go well with him. He then asked his magic boots to take him to his youngest sister, and found her crying in a dark cavern. She said she had been carried off by a monster who kept her prisoner because he wished to marry her against her will, but she would not consent. She said her husband could never die, and the youth remembered the other men and their curses. He advised his sister to promise the man in exchange for him to tell her why he could never die. The man then appeared and asked for her to marry him, and the girl did as her brother asked. He responded that in order to kill him, someone would have to find an iron casket at the bottom of the sea with a white dove inside, and find the egg which the dove laid, and hit him over the head with it. Hating the thought of marrying him, the girl begged that the wedding be delayed three days, and he agreed. Her brother then used his boots to travel to the seashore, took out his scale, and said “Come and help me, King of the Fishes,” and soon had every fish searching, and found the casket. He used his key to unlock it, but the white dove flew away. He then drew out his feather and said “Come and help me, King of the Birds” and soon the egg was found. He then wished himself back to his younger sister, and because it was now the third day, she was preparing for the wedding. At a sign from her brother, she had the monstrous man lay his head in her lap, then took the egg and hit it over his head, killing him. The eldest daughter’s husbands turned back into handsome men, and the youngest enjoyed the treasures left behind by the monster.