Once upon a time, there was a princess of ordinary beauty.

One day, she met the prince of a neighboring kingdom, who fell in love with her deeply. But she was a vain girl, and because he was plain like herself, she spurned his affection. Wounded and bitter, the prince, who was skilled with magic, cursed her as they parted ways.

The next morning when the princess awoke, she had been transformed into a great beauty, the likes of which no man had seen before.

So terrible was her loveliness that her loyal guards lost their senses at the sight of her. Even her dear father and brothers, who had come to her defense, would have ravaged her themselves, had her maids not helped her to escape.

From the window of a distant tower, she watched and wept as her kinsmen turned upon themselves, cutting down one another in the madness of their lust.

Veiling her face, she left the castle. But no matter where she traveled, no matter how hard she strove to keep her face hidden, her disguise would eventually slip, and men would see her beauty and become insane. And the tearful women they left behind would curse her name and drive her away.

Heartbroken, she left her beloved kingdom and lived as an outcast in a faraway wood.

One day, her loneliness grew too oppressive for her to bear. Taking up a sharp heavy stone, she smashed and scraped at her pale perfect face until the ground ran red with her blood.

When her wounds had healed in a knotted mass of scars, she ventured out to a nearby town. The townspeople gasped at her ugliness. The children threw rocks at her and screamed, but the elders took pity upon her wretchedness, and allowed her to live at the outskirts of town.

She toiled at the earth, and though her life was hard and the people around her recoiled from the sight of her, she was grateful to dwell in peace among them.

One day, as she was wheeling a load of vegetables to market, she met the king’s party on the road. When the king passed her by, she ducked her head in shame, for he was the man who had once loved her.

But the king recognized her still, despite her gruesome appearance. That night he returned and visited the princess in her hovel at the edge of town.

When he learned what had become of her, he was stricken with guilt and grief. He knelt down before her. Lifting a mirror to her ruined face, he asked her to remember how she had looked before.

She thought back, and as she remembered, her reflection began to change. The scars smoothed away. Her broken bones straightened, her torn flesh mended. She smiled at the crook in her nose, at the largeness of her teeth, at the ruddiness of her complexion.

Touching her face with her fingertips, tears sprang to her eyes, for she realized that what she saw in the mirror had come to be.

She gazed down at the man who loved her still. He was not handsome, but neither was she, and she loved him with all of her heart.

The king gathered her up in his arms and made her his queen, and together they lived happily ever after, in peace and humility.