her bosom, and laid it snugly amidst the
warm woollen folds. The next morning she went to look at it, and
the first thing she saw was the broken eggshell, and a little
doll lying among the pieces. Then she felt happy at last, and
leaving the doll in peace to grow, waited, as she had been told,
for a baby of her own to lay beside it.
In course of time, this came also, and the queen took the little
girl out of the basket, and placed it with her son in a golden
cradle which glittered with precious stones. Next she sent for
the king, who nearly went mad with joy at the sight of the
children.
Soon there came a day when the whole court was ordered to be
present at the christening of the royal babies, and when all was
ready the queen softly opened the window a little, and let the
goose wing fly out. The guests were coming thick and fast, when
suddenly there drove up a splendid coach drawn by six
cream-coloured horses, and out of it stepped a young lady dressed
in garments that shone like the sun. Her face could not be seen,
for a veil covered her head, but as she came up to the place
where the queen was standing with the babies she drew the veil
aside, and everyone was dazzled with her beauty. She took the
little girl in her arms, and holding it up before the assembled
company announced that henceforward it would be known by the name
of Dotterine—a name which no one understood but the queen, who
knew that the baby had come from the yolk of an egg. The boy was
called Willem.
After the feast was over and the guests were going away, the
godmother laid the baby in the cradle, and said to the queen,
'Whenever the baby goes to sleep, be sure you lay the basket
beside her, and leave the eggshells in it. As long as you do
that, no evil can come to her; so guard this treasure as the
apple of your eye, and teach your daughter to do so likewise.'
Then, kissing the baby three times, she mounted her coach and
drove away.
The children throve well, and Dotterine's nurse loved her as if
she were the baby's real mother. Every day the little girl
seemed to grow prettier, and people used to say she would soon be
as beautiful as her godmother, but no one knew, except the nurse,
that at night, when the child slept, a strange and lovely lady
bent over her. At length she told the queen what she had seen,
but they determined to keep it as a secret between themselves.
The twins were by this time nearly two years old, when the queen
was taken suddenly ill. All the best doctors in the country were
sent for, but it was no use, for there is no cure for death. The
queen knew she was dying, and sent for Dotterine and her nurse,
who had now become her lady-in-waiting. To her, as her most
faithful servant, she gave the lucky basket in charge, and
besought her to treasure it carefully. 'When my daughter,' said
the queen, 'is ten years old, you are to hand it over to her, but
warn her solemnly that her whole future happiness depends on the
way she guards it. About my son, I have no fears. He is the
heir of the kingdom, and his father will look after him.' The
lady-in-waiting promised to carry out the queen's directions, and
above all to keep the affair a secret. And that same morning the
queen died.
After some years the king married again, but he did not love his
second wife as he had done his first, and had only married her
for reasons of ambition. She hated her step-children, and the
king, seeing this, kept them out of the way, under the care of
Dotterine's old nurse. But if they ever strayed across the path
of the queen, she would kick them out of her sight like dogs.
On Dotterine's tenth birthday her nurse handed her over the
cradle, and repeated to her her mother's dying words; but the
child was too young to understand the value of such a gift, and
at first thought little about it.
Two more years slipped by, when one day during the king's absence
the stepmother found Dotterine sitting under a lime tree. She
fell as usual into a passion, and beat the
warm woollen folds. The next morning she went to look at it, and
the first thing she saw was the broken eggshell, and a little
doll lying among the pieces. Then she felt happy at last, and
leaving the doll in peace to grow, waited, as she had been told,
for a baby of her own to lay beside it.
In course of time, this came also, and the queen took the little
girl out of the basket, and placed it with her son in a golden
cradle which glittered with precious stones. Next she sent for
the king, who nearly went mad with joy at the sight of the
children.
Soon there came a day when the whole court was ordered to be
present at the christening of the royal babies, and when all was
ready the queen softly opened the window a little, and let the
goose wing fly out. The guests were coming thick and fast, when
suddenly there drove up a splendid coach drawn by six
cream-coloured horses, and out of it stepped a young lady dressed
in garments that shone like the sun. Her face could not be seen,
for a veil covered her head, but as she came up to the place
where the queen was standing with the babies she drew the veil
aside, and everyone was dazzled with her beauty. She took the
little girl in her arms, and holding it up before the assembled
company announced that henceforward it would be known by the name
of Dotterine—a name which no one understood but the queen, who
knew that the baby had come from the yolk of an egg. The boy was
called Willem.
After the feast was over and the guests were going away, the
godmother laid the baby in the cradle, and said to the queen,
'Whenever the baby goes to sleep, be sure you lay the basket
beside her, and leave the eggshells in it. As long as you do
that, no evil can come to her; so guard this treasure as the
apple of your eye, and teach your daughter to do so likewise.'
Then, kissing the baby three times, she mounted her coach and
drove away.
The children throve well, and Dotterine's nurse loved her as if
she were the baby's real mother. Every day the little girl
seemed to grow prettier, and people used to say she would soon be
as beautiful as her godmother, but no one knew, except the nurse,
that at night, when the child slept, a strange and lovely lady
bent over her. At length she told the queen what she had seen,
but they determined to keep it as a secret between themselves.
The twins were by this time nearly two years old, when the queen
was taken suddenly ill. All the best doctors in the country were
sent for, but it was no use, for there is no cure for death. The
queen knew she was dying, and sent for Dotterine and her nurse,
who had now become her lady-in-waiting. To her, as her most
faithful servant, she gave the lucky basket in charge, and
besought her to treasure it carefully. 'When my daughter,' said
the queen, 'is ten years old, you are to hand it over to her, but
warn her solemnly that her whole future happiness depends on the
way she guards it. About my son, I have no fears. He is the
heir of the kingdom, and his father will look after him.' The
lady-in-waiting promised to carry out the queen's directions, and
above all to keep the affair a secret. And that same morning the
queen died.
After some years the king married again, but he did not love his
second wife as he had done his first, and had only married her
for reasons of ambition. She hated her step-children, and the
king, seeing this, kept them out of the way, under the care of
Dotterine's old nurse. But if they ever strayed across the path
of the queen, she would kick them out of her sight like dogs.
On Dotterine's tenth birthday her nurse handed her over the
cradle, and repeated to her her mother's dying words; but the
child was too young to understand the value of such a gift, and
at first thought little about it.
Two more years slipped by, when one day during the king's absence
the stepmother found Dotterine sitting under a lime tree. She
fell as usual into a passion, and beat the
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