Once upon a time, there was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. Every morning, the princesses' shoes were found to be severely worn out, as if they had been dancing all night long. But no matter how the king sent people to keep watch, he could not find out where the princesses went to dance at night.
So the king announced that whoever could uncover the secret of the princesses' night - time dancing could marry one of the princesses and inherit the throne. There was an old soldier who had been wounded in the war and could no longer fight. When he heard this news, he wanted to give it a try. He came before the king and said that he was willing to take on this task.
At night, the soldier was taken to the room next to where the princesses slept. He pretended to drink the wine brought by the princesses and then pretended to fall asleep. When the princesses thought he was asleep, they began to dress up, put on their beautiful dresses, and opened the hidden door behind the wardrobe.
The soldier secretly followed them. He found that the princesses walked along a secret passageway, which was full of the glitter of gold and silver treasures. Finally, they came to a beautiful lake. By the lake, there were twelve small boats, and in each boat, there was a handsome prince waiting for the princesses.
The princesses happily jumped into the small boats and went to a magnificent palace on the other side of the lake. There was wonderful music, and the princesses and princes began to dance heartily until the early hours of the morning. The soldier secretly broke off a branch as evidence and then quietly followed the princesses back to the room.
The next morning, the soldier told the king everything he had seen and also showed the branch as evidence. The king believed him. According to the agreement, the soldier could choose a princess to marry and inherit the throne when the king passed away. So, this clever soldier chose the princess he liked the most and lived a happy life.
