Once upon a time, there lived three beautiful princesses in a castle far away. The first- born princess was very smart and spent all her free time in the castle’s library. The second- born princess was strong, and though she lacked the brains of her sister, she had won the hearts of her parents, the king and queen, and was most likely to be taking the throne when they passed.


The third princess, ironically, was unknown to her kingdom. She spent had spent most of her life as a slave to her sisters. You would think that the other two princesses would give their poor little sister a break every now and then, but you would be wrong. The two girls often took advantage of their younger sister and made her do things for them that they knew they could do them selves. The eldest princess had even given her the nickname “Aurial” because she read that was what slaves were called in the Roman Empire.


But little did the two princesses know why their sister was a servant. You see, the king and queen decided if anything ever happened to their first two daughters, they would have one left to take the throne.


Unfortunately, this plan was destroyed after the king had passed away and the queen was left to choose who should take her place. At first she thought of letting the second princess take the throne, but wanted to give her other two daughters a far chance. So, she called for her sister, a known witch in hiding, and together the two came up with a plan.


The next morning, the princesses were told to go the castle’s ballroom. Aurial came in late still dressed in rags, her sister laughed at her, for they were dressed in gowns.


Their aunt entered the room followed by three animals: a dove, a badger, and a dog . . . a mutt to be exact.


The queen walked in a few steps after the mutt, and started explaining her clever plan, “The three creatures before you were turned into animals by my sister,” she told them. Her second- born daughter starred at her with a blank expression, “meaning they were all human at one point.” She further explained, “In fact, one of them was a prince. Each of these animals is going to tell you something about them when they were human. You will pick the one you want to marry, the one who chooses the prince will take my place.”


The animals then took the floor, the dove spoke first, “I can tell you I was wealthy.” He said and flew back in line.


The badger then approached, “I can tell you I was fun to be around.” He told them.


The mutt was last; he stepped forward then tripped on his own two feet. Aurial helped him back up and let him talk, “I can tell you I was kind.”


When it came time to choose, Aurial chose the mutt; it wasn’t just because her sisters would leave her with him anyway, but because she knew a prince had to a kind person, or at least so she was told.


Her eldest sister chose the dove, because she knew a prince had to be wealthy. The second princess was left with the badger, but she didn’t care because he said he was fun. Fun was her favorite word.


The witch changed the animals back into their human form. The second princess studied her man; He wore a crown! She began to laugh and jump around for she had won.


“Not so fast,” said the queen, clapping her hands. “You guys have been rude to your sister, but she is the true ruler of this kingdom. Aurial wins, for not only is she smart and strong, but she is kind and understanding.”


So the first- born princess was married to a duke, and lived to be rich. The second princess was married to a prince, and ruled against her sister. Aurial was married to a baker who soon became king, and together they ruled their kingdom in kindness.