Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful Princess, and a Prince was in love with her, but her father, who was a King, did not like the Prince and would not let his daughter marry him because he did not have as many castles as the King or so much land. And so, the pretty Princess wept and would not eat.
The Prince rode past the castle every day, hoping he might see her, but her father kept a strict watch over her. One day she was in a room in a tower of the castle and saw the Prince from the window. She waved her handkerchief to him, and he saw her and waved back. Then the Princess wept harder than before, and that night she went into the garden and walked all night. As she stood weeping by a big tree, she heard singing.
The Princess looked around, but no one was in sight. She saw something glistening on a bush near her. She looked closer and saw a ring. As she touched it, the ring began singing:
“Oh, I am a true-lovers’ knot; Never let this be forgot. Those who wear me Always happy shall be, For I am a true-lovers’ knot.”
The Princess put the ring upon her finger, and though it stopped singing, she felt happier. Then she noticed that it was in the form of a lovers’ knot. The next day when she went to the tower to watch for her lover, she was not crying, for the ring kept singing to her, and when the Prince went past, she waved her handkerchief with the hand which wore the ring, and away flew the handkerchief toward the Prince.
As it flew, it became a white dove, and when it returned, it held in its bill a love message for the Princess from the Prince, telling her not to weep, that all would be well. The ring began singing again:
“Oh, I am a true-lovers’ knot; Never let this be forgot. Those who wear me Always happy shall be, For I am a true-lovers’ knot.”
That night the King and Queen were awakened by a bright light in their room. The castle was on fire. They ran to the Princess’s room, but they could not pass the flames. The King was in despair and offered a big reward for anyone who would rescue the Princess.
A horseman was seen riding at full speed toward the castle. He climbed up the castle wall to the Princess’s window, and a flock of white doves dropped water on him from their bills as he passed through the flames. He soon reappeared with the Princess in his arms, and the doves dropped water on them, and they were unharmed.
The King was so thankful that his daughter was safe that he did not notice who had rescued her until he offered him a bag of gold as his reward.
The Prince, for it was he, pushed the gold aside, saying, “I want more than that; I wish your daughter for my wife.” The Princess pleaded with the King, telling him that her life belonged to the Prince because he had saved her from the flames, and so the old King gave his consent. But while the castle had appeared to be in flames, there were no signs of fire when the wedding took place the next day. The white doves flew around while the ceremony was being performed and then flew away. The ring kept singing to the Princess, who seemed to be the only one who heard it, but when the Prince wanted her to put his ring in its place, she told him about finding the wonderful ring, and he told her she must never part with it but wear it all her life.
The next day, the Princess rode away with the Prince on his black horse, and the ring sang to them as they rode along:
“Oh, I am a true-lovers’ knot; Never let this be forgot. Those who wear me Always happy shall be, For I am a true-lover’s knot.”
