A long time ago, there were three sisters, who lived in a village in the eastern woods. Their father was a proud warrior who had died in battle, leaving their poor mother to raise them. While the youngest sister was fairly attractive, her two elder sisters were exceptionally beautiful, and very proud of it. They constantly ridiculed their younger sister, telling her that she was ugly, that no man would ever want her, and that she would never find happiness. They boasted of the wealthy men from the cities that they were going to marry, men they claimed were out of the younger sister's reach. The poor girl would go running off to her bedroom in tears, and cry herself to sleep. Taking her sisters' words to heart, she began to loathe her appearance.
Finally the time came for the three sisters to be married and have families of their own, and so they went out into the world to find husbands. The eldest sister traveled to the capital city, where a rich baron fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She agreed in an instant. The middle sister traveled to a nearby town, and married a wealthy merchant. The elder sisters were very proud of their catches, and bragged about them endlessly to the poor youngest sister.
The youngest sister remained in the village, too afraid to go into the wider world. She was convinced, due to her perceived ugliness, that no man would ever want her. However, a young farmhand from the village fell in love with her, and after courting her for some time, he finally convinced the reluctant girl to marry him. The elder sisters were delirious with laughter. How could a farmhand compare to a baron, or a rich merchant?
They were about to find out.
The eldest sister moved into the baron's castle, where to her horror, her new husband treated her like a slave. He forced her to cook all his meals, wash all his clothes, scrub the castle, and make love to him every night. This was not the life the woman had expected, and when she asked to be treated with the respect she felt she deserved, the baron just laughed in her face.
When it became clear that the woman could not produce an heir for the baron, he grew tired of her. One night, he decided to get rid of her. He smothered her with a pillow, and dumped her body in the moat. He married another woman who could bear children, and acted like the eldest sister had never existed.
The middle sister, by contrast, found that her new husband paid her no attention at all. He spent all his time travelling the land, buying and selling, as merchants do. The few times he did venture home were not enough for the woman, who began to crave male attention.
She caught the eye of another merchant, and the two began a passionate affair. However, word soon got out about it, and when her husband heard he was furious. He kicked her out of the home that he barely visited himself, and she was forced to live on the streets, branded a whore by the locals for her adultery. A month later her body was found drowned in the local river. The shame and humiliation had been more than the proud middle sister could bear, and had driven her to suicide.
The youngest sister, meanwhile, lived out her days in the village where she grew up, together with her husband the farmhand. She learned of her sister's fates, born of their own pride and selfishness, and finally realized that inner beauty was more important than outward looks. Her sisters had had ugly hearts, and had met ugly ends. But her heart was pure and beautiful, and she lived her days in peace and joy. In the end, the youngest sister - constantly told she would never experience true happiness - was the only one of the sisters that did.
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