One day, after the queen conceives her 13th child, the king tells her that if the child is a girl, their 12 sons must die. He then bids the queen to tell no one about this.
Yet she cannot hide her sorrow for her beloved sons. And, one day, her youngest son, Benjamin, relentlessly asks her why she’s so distressed until she reveals the terrible situation to him.
She implores her son to flee into the forest with his brothers. There, they must keep watch—if the baby is a boy, she will set a white flag out of the tower window. If the baby is a girl, she will put out a red flag, and they must flee quickly.
The 12 brothers obediently flee to the forest and soon see a red flag flying in the tower window. Afraid for their lives, they hurry deeper into the forest, where they find a hut to live in.
After many years, the young princess hears of her 12 brothers and how they fled because of her. Determined to find them, she journeys into the forest. And, after traveling a while, she finds the hut where her brothers live and joyfully reunites with them.
The young princess decides to stay with her brothers and keep house for them. However, misfortune strikes one day when the young princess decides to pick the 12 lilies in the garden for her 12 brothers. For, when she picks the lilies, her brothers all turn into ravens and their house and garden disappear.
Alone and unsure what to do, the princess sees an old woman standing nearby. The old woman chastises her for picking the flowers and says that her brothers will be ravens forever.
The princess cries and asks the old woman how to free her brothers. The woman warns the young princess that there is only one way to break the curse. She tells her: “You would have to be dumb and not laugh for seven years, and if you spoke a single word [...] that one word would slay your brothers.”
Determined to save her brothers, the princess climbs to the top of a very high tree, where she stays without speaking or laughing.
One day, a king finds her while hunting in the forest. Charmed by her beauty and grace, he asks her to marry him. She simply nods her head in assent, and he carries her home.
The king and young princess marry and live happily for a few years, until the king’s stepmother begins spreading rumors about the mute, unsmiling princess. The stepmother’s words eventually persuade the king, and he sentences his bride to burn at the stake.
As the fire draws closer to the young princess, the seven years of her silence culminate. Suddenly, 12 ravens swoop down into the courtyard and transform back into her 12 brothers. The young princess has successfully saved her brothers, and now they come to save her from the fire.
As the mother does what she can to save her sons, so too do her children demonstrate love for each other, showcasing the strength of familial love. Through their story, the Brothers Grimm showed the beauty of not only love, but also family loyalty. For loyalty perseveres through hardships, and love binds all together in a beautiful, unbreakable bond. A remarkable story for the entire family!
