There once lived a woman who had a daughter as sweet as sunshine. And not far away, lived a man who had a daughter as sour as a lemon. Well, what do you know? The woman and the man decided to get married! So now, the sweet girl had a stepmother and a stepsister.

The stepmother, you see, wasn't very nice to the sweet girl. She loved her own sour daughter much more. She made the sweet girl do all the hard work, wear old clothes, and eat only scraps.

One freezing winter day, when snow covered everything like a fluffy white blanket, the stepmother had a wicked idea. "Go into the forest," she told the sweet girl, "and bring me back a basket of ripe, red strawberries." Strawberries in winter? That was just silly! But the sweet girl, always obedient, put on her thin coat and went out into the cold.

Shivering, she walked deep into the snowy woods. Soon, she saw a tiny little house with smoke curling from its chimney. She knocked gently. Three little men, with long white beards and rosy cheeks, opened the door. "Hello!" they chirped.

"Good day, little sirs," she said politely. "May I warm myself by your fire?"
"Of course!" they said. "Are you hungry?"
The girl only had a tiny piece of dry bread. "It's not much," she said, "but I can share it." She broke her bread and gave them each a piece.
"Would you like us to sweep the snow from your path?" one little man asked.
"Oh, I can do that!" said the kind girl, and she happily swept the snow away from their door.

The three little men whispered to each other. "She is so kind and good!" Then they said to her, "Because you have been so good, we will grant you three wishes. First, you will grow more beautiful every day. Second, whenever you speak, gold coins will fall from your lips. And third, a king will come and marry you!" And guess what? When she looked in her basket, it was full of sweet, red strawberries!

The sweet girl thanked them and hurried home. When her stepmother saw the strawberries, she was amazed. And when the girl spoke, "Here are the strawberries, Mother," gold coins clinked to the floor! The stepmother's eyes grew wide with greed.

Now, the stepmother wanted these gifts for her own sour daughter. So, the next day, she dressed her daughter in a warm fur coat and gave her a big piece of cake. "Go to the little house in the woods," she said, "and get those gifts!"

The sour girl stomped to the little house and banged on the door. "Let me in!" she demanded when the little men opened it. She barged past them and sat by the fire.
"Give me some of your cake," one little man asked.
"Humph! As if I'd share my cake with you!" she snapped.
"Will you sweep our path?" another asked.
"Do it yourselves!" she grumbled.

The three little men whispered again. "She is so rude and selfish!" Then they said, "Because you have been so unkind, we also have three things for you. First, you will grow uglier every day. Second, whenever you speak, slimy toads will jump from your mouth. And third, you will have a very unhappy end."

The sour girl stomped home, very cross. When her mother asked what happened, she opened her mouth to complain, and PLOP! A slimy toad jumped out. And another! And another! And she didn't find any strawberries.

Meanwhile, the sweet girl grew more beautiful each day, and gold coins fell whenever she spoke. One day, a handsome king was riding through the land. He heard about the beautiful girl who spoke gold. He came to see her, fell in love at once, and asked her to be his queen. And so, they were married in a grand celebration!

After a year, the queen had a beautiful baby. The stepmother and her sour daughter (who was now very ugly and always had toads hopping around her) were so jealous! They came to visit the queen. When the king was away, the wicked stepmother and stepsister grabbed the queen and threw her out of the castle window into the river below! They put the sour daughter in the queen's bed, covered her up, and hoped the king wouldn't notice.

But the queen didn't drown. She turned into a beautiful white duck! Every night, the duck would swim up to the castle kitchen. A little kitchen boy would see her. The duck would ask:
"Kitchen boy, kitchen boy, so young and so true,
What is my dear king now doing for you?"
And the kitchen boy would say, "He sleeps sound and deep."
Then the duck would ask, "And my little baby, what does he do?"
And the boy would say, "He sleeps in his cradle, boo hoo, boo hoo."
The duck would then preen her feathers and swim away sadly.

The kitchen boy told the king about the mysterious duck. The next night, the king hid in the kitchen. When the duck came and asked her questions, the king jumped out! "My dear wife!" he cried. He took his sword and waved it three times over the duck.

And POOF! The duck turned back into his beautiful queen! She was a little wet, but very happy to be back.

The king was furious with the stepmother and her ugly, toad-talking daughter. He ordered them to be put into a barrel filled with pointy nails and rolled down a hill into the river. And that was the very unhappy end for them.

But the king, the good queen, and their little baby lived happily ever after, with lots of love and plenty of gold coins (but no more toads!).

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