adust

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ONCE UPON A time there was a king who had three beautiful daughters. As he grew old, he began to wonder which should inherit the kingdom, since none had married, and he had no heir. The king decided to ask his daughters to demonstrate their love for him.

To the eldest princess he said, "Tell me how you love me." She loved him as much as all the treasure in the kingdom.

To the middle princess he said, "Tell me how you love me." She loved him with the strength of iron.

To the youngest princess he said, "Tell me how you love me." This youngest princess thought for a long time before answering. Finally, she said she loved him as meat loves salt.

"Then you do not love me at all," the king said. He threw his daughter from the castle and had the bridge drawn up behind her so that she could not return.

Now, this youngest princess goes into the forest with not so much as a coat or a loaf of bread. She wanders through a hard winter, taking shelter beneath trees. She arrives at an inn and gets hired as assistant to the cook. As the days and weeks go by, the princess learns the ways of the kitchen. Eventually she surpasses her employer in skill and her food is known throughout the land.

Years pass, and the eldest princess comes to be married. For the festivities, the cook from the inn makes the wedding meal. Finally, a large roast pig is served. It is the king's favorite dish, but this time it has been cooked with no salt. The king tastes it. Tastes it again. "Who would dare to serve such an ill-cooked roast at the future queen's wedding?" he cries.

The princess-cook appears before her father, but she is so changed he does not recognize her. "I would not serve you salt, Your Majesty," she explains. "For did you not exile your youngest daughter for saying that it was of value?"

At her words, the king realizes that not only is she his daughter—she is, in fact, the daughter who loves him best. And what then? The eldest daughter and the middle sister have been living with the king all this time. One has been in favor one week, the other the next. They have been driven apart by their father's constant comparisons. Now the youngest has returned, the king yanks the kingdom from his eldest, who has just been married. She is not to be queen after all.

The elder sisters rage. At first, the youngest basks in fatherly love. Before long, however, she realizes the king is demented and power mad.

She is to be queen, but she is also stuck tending to a crazy old tyrant for the rest of her days. She will not leave him, no matter how sick he becomes.

Does she stay because she loves him as meat loves salt? Or does she stay because he has now promised her the kingdom?

It is hard for her to tell the difference.