In a certain kingdom, a king ruled the land. He was very wise and far-sighted. The people were very happy with him. The king had seven queens. He loved all of them dearly, but the youngest queen was especially intelligent and clever, so he loved her the most.
The other queens were jealous of the youngest queen. They often complained about her to the king. Although the king was pleased with the prosperity of his people, he was troubled by the daily quarrels within his household.
One day, he decided to test all the queens. He went to the palace and summoned the seven queens. He gave each of them some cotton to spin and said, “In three days, whichever queen fails to spin this amount of cotton into thread will be sent back to her parents’ home.”
Six of the seven queens did not know how to spin thread. Therefore, they placed cotton at the bottom and wrapped thread around the top to make it look as if they had completed the task. Then they all went together to see the youngest queen’s work and said, “Sister, please show us your thread.”
The youngest queen showed them her thread. It was very fine and evenly spun. Seeing the excellent quality of her thread, the other queens burned with jealousy. Secretly, while the youngest queen was not looking, they released a mouse into her thread, hoping it would gnaw through it and ruin it.
But whom God protects, no one can harm. The mouse was actually the queen of all mice, and she was very skilled at weaving cloth. Overnight, she wove the youngest queen’s thread into beautiful fabric.
The next day, the queens quietly came to look. When they saw that the thread had been transformed into woven cloth, they were even more astonished. Out of jealousy, they threw burning pieces of charcoal onto the fabric and left.
However, the one whom God protects cannot be harmed. Wherever the charcoal fell, beautiful floral patterns appeared on the cloth. The fabric became even more beautiful than before.
On the third day, the king sent word to all the queens to come and present their thread. All the queens brought their thread and appeared before the king. However, when the youngest queen saw the floral-patterned cloth instead of thread, she was astonished. Out of fear, she began to tremble. There was no time left for her to spin new thread, so she finally went to the king, feeling very nervous.
The king first examined the thread of the six queens and ordered them to unwind it separately. When they did so, only a small amount of actual thread was found, exposing their deception. The king was filled with anger.
At last, it was the youngest queen’s turn. When the king saw her beautifully decorated floral cloth, he was amazed. The youngest queen, trembling with fear, told him the entire story. She explained how the other queens had first released a mouse into her thread to ruin it and later thrown burning charcoal onto the cloth. However, by God’s grace, everything had turned out for the better, and the result now stood before him.
After hearing the whole story, the king understood the jealousy and deceit of the other queens. He was greatly impressed by the youngest queen’s honesty, wisdom, and good fortune. The beautiful floral cloth was proof that truth and goodness ultimately triumph over envy and malice.
The king was very angry, but when he saw the youngest queen’s honesty and wisdom, he controlled his anger. Then it was the turn of the other queens. They asked the king for forgiveness and promised that they would never do such a thing again. The king forgave them all.
A few days later, the king decided to test the queens once more. This time, he sent sugarcane and cooking pots to all the queens with the instruction that they should use the sugarcane as fuel instead of firewood. He announced, “This evening, we will eat the food cooked using these sugarcane stalks.”
A guard was posted at each queen’s palace to ensure that no queen could secretly use firewood to cook the food. The king wanted to make sure that everyone followed his instructions exactly and that no one cheated during the test.
In the evening, the king first went to the palace of the eldest queen. When he saw the condition of her kitchen and the food, he immediately understood that no meal could be served there. After staying for a short while, he took the first queen with him and went to the second queen’s palace. There, he found the same situation.
The king then took the first and second queens with him to the third queen’s palace, and then continued in the same way from one queen to the next. Everywhere he went, he saw the same disappointing condition. None of the six queens had been able to prepare the meal.
Finally, the king arrived at the palace of the youngest, seventh queen. She made comfortable arrangements for everyone to sit. After some pleasant conversation, she had water brought so that everyone could wash their hands. Then all of them sat down together and enjoyed a delicious and tasty meal.
After a while, the king said, “I had decided to test all of my queens. Among them, the six elder queens have failed the test. However, the youngest queen has succeeded because of her intelligence, wisdom, and resourcefulness.”
“From today onward, I am sending the elder queens back to their parents’ homes. Only the youngest queen will remain with me, and she alone shall be known as the Queen of this kingdom,” declared the king.
Upon hearing the king’s decision, the youngest queen respectfully requested, “Your Majesty, I humbly ask you to forgive them and allow them to continue living in the royal palace.”
“Very well,” replied the king, “but from this day forward, none of them will be permitted to interfere in the affairs of the kingdom.”
After that day, there was a great change in the attitudes and behavior of the elder queens. They treated the youngest queen with great respect. Through her wisdom, kindness, and good nature, the youngest queen had won all their hearts. From then on, peace and harmony prevailed in the royal palace, and everyone lived happily together.