Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters. He wanted to choose one of them to be the queen. He called the daughter to him and said, “My dear children, the one who brings me a birthday present which is most necessary to human life shall be queen. Go and make your plans.”

         The king’s birthday arrived. The two oldest daughters brought him presents that were very necessary, but were also very expensive. However, the youngest daughter only brought him a small pile of salt. When the king saw her present, he became very angry. He told the daughter to leave his castle and never come back.

         The daughter left her father’s castle. She had nowhere to go. As she wandered in the forest, cold and hungry, a prince saw her and fell in love with her at once. She agreed to marry him and a great party was held at the prince’s castle. The king was invited, but he did not know that the bride was his daughter.

        The girl told the cook to make all the dishes for the party with no salt. At the wedding, everyone started eating and they found that the food had no taste. Then the king sighed, “I now know how necessary salt is. But, because I didn’t know that before, I sent my own daughter away and I will never see her again.” Hearing this, the daughter went to the king and made herself known. They all lived happily ever after.