"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (also known as "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes" or "The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces"; in German, "Die zertanzten Schuhe") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It was published in Grimm's Fairy Tales in 1815 (KHM 133). This story is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 306.

Charles Deulin collected a French version of the tale in his book Contes du Roi Cambrinus (1874). He said this version was based on the Grimm version. Alexander Afanasyev collected two Russian versions of the story, called "The Night Dances," in his book Narodnye russkie skazki.

The story most similar to this one is the Scottish tale "Kate Crackernuts," where a prince is required to dance every night.

Origin

The story was published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of their book Kinder- und Hausmärchen, volume 2, which was released in 1815. The Brothers Grimm received the story from Jenny von Droste-Hülshoff. It was first listed as number 47, but in later editions, it was given the number KHM 133.

Synopsis

In a kingdom, a king lives with his twelve daughters. The princesses sleep in twelve beds in the same bedroom. Each night, their father locks the bedroom doors. However, each morning, the king unlocks the doors and finds the princesses' shoes worn out, as if they danced all night. Confused, the king promises that any man who solves the mystery can marry one of the princesses and inherit the kingdom. Each suitor is given three days and three nights to discover the secret. If they fail, they are beheaded.

Many princes try to find out where the princesses dance, but all of them fail and are executed. An old soldier, returning from war, meets an old woman. He tells her about his plan to accept the king's challenge. The old woman warns him not to drink the wine the princesses will offer and to pretend to be asleep until they leave. She also gives him an invisibility cloak to help him watch the princesses.

The soldier is welcomed at the palace. That evening, the eldest princess brings him a cup of wine. Remembering the old woman's advice, the soldier pours the wine into a sponge tied under his chin and lies on his bed, pretending to sleep.

The princesses, believing the soldier is asleep, dress in their finest gowns and leave their room through a trapdoor under the eldest princess's bed. The soldier puts on his invisibility cloak and follows them down a staircase. He accidentally steps on the youngest princess's gown, causing her to cry out. The eldest princess tells her sisters to ignore the sound. The path leads them to three groves of trees: one with silver trees, one with golden trees, and one with diamond trees. The soldier breaks off a twig from each grove as proof. Each time, the youngest princess warns her sisters about the noise, but the eldest dismisses her.

They continue until they reach a large lake. Twelve princes, each in a boat, wait for the princesses. Each princess enters a boat, and the soldier boards the same boat as the youngest princess. Her partner notices the boat feels heavier than usual. On the other side of the lake stands a castle, where the princesses dance all night.

At three in the morning, the princesses leave the castle, their shoes worn out. The princes row them back across the lake. The soldier sits beside the eldest princess. When they reach the top of the secret staircase, the soldier lies back in his bed, pretending to sleep to trick the princesses into thinking their secret is safe.

The soldier does not tell the king immediately. He watches the princesses again on the second and third nights, seeing the same events. On the third night, he takes a cup as a fourth proof of his discovery. When the time comes to reveal the secret, the soldier shows the king the three twigs and the cup, explaining everything he saw. The princesses admit the truth. The soldier chooses the eldest princess as his wife, as he is no longer young, and becomes the king's heir.

The twelve princes are cursed for as many nights as they danced with the princesses.

Background

The Brothers Grimm learned the story from their friends, the Haxthausens, who had heard it in Münster. Other versions of the story were known in Hesse and Paderborn. In the Hesse version, one princess is said to wear out a dozen shoes each night until a young shoemaker’s apprentice discovers she is joined by eleven other princesses during their celebrations. The spell is broken, and the apprentice marries the princess. In the Paderborn version, three princesses dance every night in a palace guarded by three giants. This version includes a trick where a soldier removes drugged wine and pretends to be asleep.

Victorian editors disliked the "do or die" rule that forced people to risk their lives to find the princesses. Instead, they changed the story so that those who failed simply disappeared without explanation. In Andrew Lang’s version, the princes who search for the princesses vanish, and it is later revealed they were enchanted and trapped underground. The hero in Lang’s version is a cowherd named Michael, who marries the youngest princess, Lina. Her sisters marry the freed princes after they are released from the enchantment.

The garden with trees that have gold, silver, and diamond leaves is similar to a garden described in the ancient Sumerian story of Gilgamesh.

In the Grimms’ version, the princesses are shown as unkind characters who lie to their father and give drugged wine to suitors to keep their secret safe. They know that those who fail to solve the mystery are sent to their deaths.

Variants

The story is probably from the 17th century or later, and many different versions of it are found in countries around the world.

• Europe: Scotland – Katie Crackernuts or Katherine Crackernuts; France – The Twelve Dancing Princesses; Portugal – The Moorish Prince and the Christian Princess, The Seven Iron Slippers; Germany – The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces, The Twelve Dancing Princesses; Denmark – The Princess with the Twelve Pair of Golden Shoes; Iceland – Hild, Queen of the Elves; Hildur the Fairy Queen; Hildur, the Queen of the Elves; Czech Republic – The Three Girls; Slovakia – The Three Girls; Hungary – The Hell-Bent Misses, The Invisible Shepherd Lad; Romania – The Slippers of the Twelve Princesses, The Twelve Princesses with the Worn-Out Slipper; Russia – The Danced Out Shoes; Elena the Wise; The Midnight Dance; The Secret Ball; Armenia – The Giant-Slayer.
• Africa: Cape Verde – The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces; Dividing the Heirlooms: The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces.
• Middle East: Turkey – The Magic Turban, the Magic Whip, and the Magic Carpet; Arabic – The Golden City.
• Asia: India – Dorani, "The Invisible Woman"; Bengal – The Kotwal's Daughter, The Rose of Bakáwalí; Uzbek – Mohistara.

In some versions, the princesses are not always twelve. Sometimes, there is only one girl. In other versions, the princess attends a nighttime dance with a magical being, such as the Devil.

A French literary version of the story exists, written by Charles Deulin in his book Contes du Roi Cambrinus.

Adaptations

• Sophie Kahn wrote a version of this famous fairy tale called "Dancing Through the Night."
• Jeanette Winterson changed and added details to the story in Sexing the Cherry, where the old soldier is a prince with 11 brothers. Each brother marries a sister, except the youngest, who runs away before her wedding to the prince.
• A 1977 East German TV movie made by Fernsehen der DDR and DEFA changed the story to include seven princesses instead of 12.
• Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child included an episode titled "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."
• In Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, Barbie plays the role of Genevieve, the 7th of 12 sisters. This version changes many details, such as the princesses escaping from an evil governess and a royal cobbler named Derek helping them.
• In 1978, a TV version directed by Ben Rea featured Jim Dale as the soldier, Freddie Jones as the king, and Gloria Grahame as the witch. This version had six princesses instead of 12, and the soldier refused to marry any of them.
• The story was retold in books by Walter de la Mare (Told Again and Tales Told Again) and Robin McKinley (The Door in the Hedge).
• In some versions, like The Door in the Hedge and Troll's-Eye View, the eldest princess disguises herself as an old woman to help the soldier.
• Patricia A. McKillip wrote a version for the anthology A Wolf at the Door. In this version, the princes the princesses dance with are dead and plan to take them to another world.
• The Once Upon a Time novel series included a retelling called The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn, set in Arthurian legends with Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake, as the mother of the princesses.
• The children's show Super Why! had an episode titled "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" where the princesses were planning a surprise party for their father.
• Anne Sexton wrote a poem titled "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" in her book Transformations (1971), which reimagines 16 Grimm fairy tales.
• Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is set in Transylvania and includes traditional folk tales. The princesses dance in an underground fairy kingdom.
• The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler tells the story from the perspective of Zita, a 13th sister who is banished by her father. She must break a curse after her sisters fall ill.
• Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George changes the story so the princesses are cursed by an evil sorcerer, the King Under Stone.
• The TV series Faerie Tale Theatre had an episode called "The Dancing Princesses" with six princesses instead of 12.
• The anime Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics is based on a version with three princesses: Genevieve, Louise, and Julia. In this version, demons live in the palace and trick the soldier.
• Entwined by Heather Dixon retells the story from the perspective of Azalea, the oldest princess.
• Jim Weiss narrates a simpler version of the story on his audio CD Best Loved Stories. In this version, the soldier is a war hero, and the princesses offer him milk instead of wine.
• The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine is set in 1920s New York City, where the princesses are hidden in their father's home.
• A stage version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses was published in 1990 by Laura Bedore, Dorothy Keddington, and Stephanie Clark. In this musical, the princes are sent to prison but reunited with the princesses.
• The story appears in Ever After High, a web series, film, and book series. The character Justine Dancer is the daughter of the youngest princess.
• In Mirrored by Alex Flinn, the witch Kendra briefly mentions the princesses as part of her past.
• The story was adapted into a play by I.E. Clark in 1969.
• A Hindi song titled "Hawa Hawa" from the 2011 film Rockstar is based on a Czech version of the fairy tale.
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig is a darker retelling set on an island, following Annaleigh, the sixth daughter, as her family deals with the deaths of her older sisters.
• A Hungarian version of the tale was adapted into an episode of the TV series Magyar népmesék titled "The Slipper-Tearing Princesses." In this version, three princesses dance on a floor of razor blades.
• 12 Princesses Goes Beyond by Classix Animation Studios features a king grieving his wife and a farm boy named Yannick who helps Princess December.