A VERY long time ago-and if you would press me to say how long ago it was I really could not tell you， but sure it is that once upon a time there lived a great and powerful King。
He was such a kind and just man that people came from nine Kingdoms and laid their cases before him for him to decide and judge。This King was rich in wealth and children， and why should he not be rich and mighty， seeing that he had been working and toiling through a long life for the benefit of his people？
When the story begins he was no longer a young man。He had gathered wide experience， he had gone through many trials in life， and now in his old age he had all the wisdom of his years， and he would have remained a happy man if his wife had not borne to him in his old age another child in addition to the twelve which he already had。
“Oh， wife！”he said， when he heard of it，“there is no luck in this。We have now thirteen children， and thirteen is the unlucky number。Thirteen is a bad sign。I wish it would have been at least twins。We are in for trouble。Who knows what may now be in store for us！ Perhaps one of the others will die or some other misfortune will come upon us。”
It seems that he had spoken these words in an evil hour， for after the girl was born-for it was a girl-everything went visibly from bad to worse。Either locusts came and ate up the crops， or illness decimated the population， or wars and strife which devastated the country arose among friends。In a word， within ten years the Kingdom was on the verge of ruin， and you could have wept over it for sorrow。
The world believes that if a man is a king， or a man is very wealthy， he has no troubles。Just the reverse！ The higher the man， the greater the worry。Here there was a mighty and very wealthy emperor， and yet he was more miserable than a poor man who has nothing to eat。It is not always wealth that brings happiness。
Now， where have I stopped with my tale？ Yes， I remember-the King was weeping over his troubles。The poor old King was broken-hearted， for he loved his people， and he could not look with indifference on their troubles and woes。But what can a man do？ He suffered in silence， for he could do nothing。
When he saw the troubles growing worse and worse， he called together all the medicine men， all the physicians， and all the wise men， to take counsel with him and to see what could be done to stop the growing misery。But even they could not fathom the cause， save one， a very old man， who， when he was told of the birth of the girl， said to the King：“Your Majesty， here is the root of evil。May your Majesty pardon me， that child is a curse to the country and a curse on your head， and how can it be otherwise seeing that she is the thirteenth？ But let us first try and find out for certain whether this is the case or not。In the night go to the room where the children are asleep and see how she is lying。”
“Very well，”said the King，“I will go and see。”
On that very night， walking on tip-toe， he went into the chamber where the children were sleeping。All the others slept like human beings， but when he came to the youngest daughter he found her lying there doubled up and huddled together with her knees to her chin in such a manner that may Providence protect us from sleeping like that！ The King wondered at what he saw， and left the chamber。Going into his room， he lay down， but could not sleep the whole night for pain and grief。
The next morning the old wise man came again， and the King told him what he had seen。The old man heaved a deep sigh， and said：“Unless you send away the girl from your house there will be no longer any happy days for you。”
There was much crying and weeping， as is only natural， especially when the old man had told the King that， if things were to improve in the country， it was necessary to send the girl not only out of the palace， but far away beyond the borders of the Kingdom。It was not an easy matter for the King， for after all she was his own flesh and blood。But being a kind-hearted and just man， he said to himself：“Why should my Kingdom suffer because of my child； I alone had better suffer the pain。If this has been written down as my fate， though my sorrow be great， I prefer to bear it and so to save the Kingdom from further grief。”
And as he thought， so he did。He told the Princess all that had happened and what he was bound to do。The young Princess wept， for she felt innocent。Her sisters and brothers wept with her， still more her mother， and not least the King himself， but what else was there to be done？
Nothing else。