ESL Blogs

Once upon a time, there lived a mother with her two daughters. Her husband, the girl's father, passed away soon after the girls birth. He had an accident with his horse in the forest on the way home. He wanted to buy something in the neighboring town, a gift for his wife on the occasion of his children’s birth.

The couple had tried to start a family for a long time, but they had always failed. They had given up, but one day the woman realized that she was not just pregnant but pregnant with twins. It was hard for the woman to lose her beloved husband and to know that her girls would never see their father.

The years went by. The girls grew up and became beauties. Mother was still an attractive woman.

Once, on a cold winter day, outside the house, meter-high snow covered the landscape. The moon shone brightly, and millions of stars in the dark sky. It was nearly midnight when someone knocked on the door. The knocking sounded very loud against the silence of the winter night".

Inside the house, everyone slept deeply. The girls’ little dog slept in its basket at the foot of the bed. Nobody heard the first knock, but the person outside wasn't giving up and continued knocking.

Mother woke up, lit a candle and opened the door.
She was a little shocked by the appearance of a man who was standing at the door. He was almost frozen and looked tired and desperate. His lips were already blue and in his beard hung little icicles.

Although he didn't look well, he had good manners. He apologized several times to the woman because he had knocked so insistently.

"I am so sorry, Madam," he said, "but I don't know where I am. When I fell from my horse, I lost consciousness". When I came to, my horse had disappeared. I called, expecting someone to be there, but there wasn't anyone. So, I started looking for the way out of the wood. Finally, I found a path that led me right to your house."

"Please come in and warm up. I will give you a tea with a shot of rum. You can put on dry clothes from my late husband. You are sodden by the snow," said the woman.
The girls had meanwhile also woken up and helped their mother prepare the tea. Minutes later, the man sat in front of the fireplace, wearing dry clothes and drinking hot tea with rum. With his feet in a tin bowl of hot water, he felt his vital force coming back.

"Who are you and why have you been in the forest so late at night?" asked one of the girls. "I don't know," answered the man. "I cannot remember who I am or where I wanted to go."

"It seems you have lost your memory," said the woman. "But I believe, soon again you will remember who you are and where you live. You can stay here as long as necessary, but only if you agree to sleep on the attic floor. There is a little room. I will make a bed for you."

The man agreed gratefully and soon, everyone slept.

The next morning came, and the man did still not remember who he was.

The days went by. The man's memory had not returned. He helped the family as well as he could. He repaired shaky chairs, he chopped wood for the fireplace, and even helped with cooking and clearing the house.

One day, it was sunny and not as cold as on the previous days. The girls with their sleds went to a nearby hill to have fun. Suddenly they noticed two young horseback riders. They were elegantly dressed and seemed to be a nobleman.

At that time, the twin sisters were 16 years old, and they were still shy in the presence of men, but they took all their courage and asked the men for what they were looking.

"We are the sons of the king of this kingdom," said the young men. "We are looking for our father, the king. He went on a hunt two months ago and never came back. We are worried, and we are very disappointed, and desperate because we have already been looking for him for such a long time, but without success. We love him so much, and he is everything we have. Our mother died when we were little boys. He never married again. We always told him to find a new wife to be happy again, but he never fell in love with anyone."

Both girls became very excited because they realized who the man in their house was. The girls didn't want to tell the young men about their guess: the man could be the father of the young men, the king of the kingdom. So they invited the princes to have a tea in the girls' home. The men felt cold, so they agreed.

The king stood in the kitchen and was looking at the girls' mother while she did housework. He felt a warmth in his belly, and his heart was beating very fast.
“How beautiful she is! She has a compassionate heart, is a good mother, and a respectable woman,” he thought. He had fallen in love with her.
But, could he confess to loving her? He did not know who he was, so he kept silent.
The girls’ mother, too, had butterflies in her belly whenever she saw him.
And both didn't tell each other anything about their feelings.

Suddenly, they heard noises and voices outside. They curiously looked through the window and saw both girls accompanied by two young men.

The king immediately shouted, "Oh my God! Now I know who I am! The young men with your daughters are my sons, and I am the king of this kingdom."
He opened the door, stormed out and with the tears on his cheeks he cordially embraced his sons. He had gotten back his memory. Finally!

After the sons and the king had related their stories to each other, the king confessed to his loving the woman and asked her to marry him and to go with him to his castle. Of course, he wanted both girls to go with them, too.

After a short time, the king and the woman got married. Both girls lived with them and fell in love with the king’s sons. So, when the girls turned 18, two other weddings were celebrated.
And all of them lived happily ever after.