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There was once a merchant who lived close to the royal palace, and
had three daughters. They were all pretty, but Maria, the youngest,
was the prettiest of the three. One day the king sent for the
merchant, who was a widower, to give him directions about a
journey he wished the good man to take. The merchant would
rather not have gone, as he did not like leaving his daughters at
home, but he could not refuse to obey the king's commands, and
with a heavy heart he returned home to say farewell to them.
Before he left, he took three pots of basil, and gave one to each
girl, saying, 'I am going a journey, but I leave these pots. You must
let nobody into the house. When I come back, they will tell me
what has happened.' 'Nothing will have happened,' said the girls.
The father went away, and the following day the king, accompanied
by two friends, paid a visit to the three girls, who were sitting at
supper. When they saw who was there, Maria said, 'Let us go and
get a bottle of wine from the cellar. I will carry the key, my eldest
sister can take the light, while the other brings the bottle.' But the
king replied, 'Oh, do not trouble; we are not thirsty.' 'Very well, we
will not go,' answered the two elder girls; but Maria merely said, 'I
shall go, anyhow.' She left the room, and went to the hall where
she put out the light, and putting down the key and the bottle, ran
to the house of a neighbour, and knocked at the door. 'Who is
there so late?' asked the old woman, thrusting her head out of the
window.
'Oh, let me in,' answered Maria. 'I have quarrelled with my eldest
sister, and as I do not want to fight any more, I have come to beg
you to allow me to sleep with you.'
So the old woman opened the door and Maria slept in her house.
The king was very angry at her for playing truant, but when she
returned home the next day, she found the plants of her sisters
withered away, because they had disobeyed their father. Now the
window in the room of the eldest overlooked the gardens of the
king, and when she saw how fine and ripe the medlars were on the
trees, she longed to eat some, and begged Maria to scramble down
by a rope and pick her a few, and she would draw her up again.
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Fairytales 
