Clara has an old book of stories, and sometimes, when there is not much time, she reads a shorter version. This is a gentle retelling of The Queen Bee, a traditional fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.
The Queen Bee
Three brothers once set out into the world together. The two older brothers were often careless and thought little about the small creatures around them, but the youngest, who was called Simpleton, was kind and thoughtful.
Along the way, the older brothers wanted to destroy an anthill, but Simpleton stopped them. Later, they wished to disturb a group of ducks, but again he protected them. And when they found a beehive, he would not allow them to harm the bees.
At last, they came to a castle that had fallen under a strange spell. Everything inside was silent, as if frozen in time. A small man appeared and told them that the spell could only be broken by completing three tasks.
For the first task, they had to gather a thousand pearls scattered in the forest. The older brothers failed, but when it was Simpleton’s turn, the ants he had once protected came and collected all the pearls for him.
For the second task, a key had been thrown into a deep lake. Once again, the older brothers could not succeed. But the ducks he had spared dived into the water and brought the key back.
For the final task, they had to choose the youngest princess from among three who looked exactly alike. This time, the queen bee from the hive he had saved flew to the correct one and settled gently upon her.
At once, the spell was broken. The castle came back to life, and the true princess stood before them.
Because of his kindness, Simpleton succeeded where the others had failed. He married the youngest princess, and peace returned to the kingdom.
And that was the story Clara read that afternoon.