Once upon a time, there was a small kingdom in the mountains. When the King's son grew old enough to marry, the King sent out riders to all the neighboring kingdoms looking for a bride. But all of the princesses and noble ladies in those kingdoms refused the offer, saying, "Your kingdom is too small, and your castle is too poor. I do not want to marry the prince."
Now, a poor farmer's daughter in the small town near the castle saw all of this. She did want to marry the prince, but she had no money and no title. When she was working out in the fields, she thought to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I was a princess, so that I could marry the prince and be happy forever!"
One day, as she was thinking this, the farmer's daughter saw an ugly old woman. The farmer's daughter did not know the old woman, so she said, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"
The old woman said, "I am a fairy. I can grant your wish, for a price."
The farmer's daughter was excited by this, but also worried. "What is the price?"
"After you marry the prince and become a princess, you must give me your firstborn child."
The farmer's daughter did not hesitate. "I agree. I promise to give you my child if you make me a princess."
The fairy nodded. "Very well, then, it is agreed." She pulled a magic wand from her clothes and waved it once. The maiden's poor farm clothes were transformed into a lovely gown. The fairy waved the wand again. A beautiful golden carriage and a team of white horses appeared in the road beside the field. Then the fairy waved the wand a third time, and a team of servants appeared around the carriage.
The farmer's daughter stepped into the carriage, and her life was like a dream from that point forward. She rode to the castle and introduced herself as a princess and was soon marrying the prince in a grand ceremony.
The Prince and his new wife were very happy together, and about a year after the wedding, the princess gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
But then, one night when the princess was nursing her son, the old lady appeared in her chamber. The princess was very scared now, and she remembered for the first time the promise she had made over a year before.
The fairy said, "Three days from now it will be midsummer's eve. At midnight, I will appear in the tallest tower to take the child you promised me." Then she left, before the princess had a chance to plead for her child.
The princess went to her husband and told him everything. She clutched their child to her as she told the prince about how the fairy would collect the boy in three days.
When the prince heard this, he was silent for a long time. Then, he said, "Can I hold our son?"
His wife handed the baby over. "Of course, my love."
The prince looked at his son. Then, he sighed and said sadly, "We have no choice. You made a promise and we must keep it."
The princess was horrified. "There must be a way to trick the fairy. We could give the fairy a different child, or try to capture her. I don't want to give up my son!"
The prince said, "I will not break a promise. That would be wrong. It would turn us into liars and cheaters."
The princess was crying now. "But this is out firstborn son. He is ours, and the fairy does not deserve to have him. We have to keep him!"
The prince shook his head. "I will not try to trick the fairy. Even if we succeeded, the other fairies would find out, and they would punish the whole kingdom."
"But he is our only child!"
"We can have another child. But honor, and the respect of the fairies, can never be replaced."
The princess screamed at her husband. "You monster! How can you speak like that? You would sacrifice our child to keep your position. But I won't let you!"
The princess tried to grab her child out of her husband's arms, but he backed away and called for his guards. They grabbed the princess and held her tightly. She yelled and screamed until the prince ordered the guards to gag her and drag her away.
At midnight, on midsummer's eve, the prince stood at the top of the tallest tower of the castle with his son in his arms. There, at the boundary between ground and air, between one day and another, the fairy appeared in the air before him.
The fairy looked at the prince. "You are the father of the child. Where is the mother who promised him to me?"
The prince lowered his eyes. "She could not bear to see her child taken from her."
The fairy held out her hands, and the prince handed his child to her. She looked down at the child, then up at the father. "But it seems that you can see your child taken."
The prince looked at the fairy. "Can you tell me why you want this child? Why did you go to all of the trouble of granting my wife's wish to get this boy when there are so many other children in the kingdom? Did you need a royal child? Will you raise him to become a great king in the land of the fairies?"
The fairy looked down with an expression that the prince could not interpret. "I cannot say." Then, the fairy and the child faded away into the wind, leaving the prince alone on the tower.
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