One-Eyed, Two-Eyed, Three Eyed

There was once an old woman who had three daughters. The oldest daughter had three eyes, so she was called Three-Eyed. The youngest daughter had one eye, so she was called One-Eyed. The middle daughter had two eyes, so she was called Two-Eyed.

Three-Eyed was beautiful, and One-Eyed was very clever, but Two-Eyed was not clever or beautiful. However, she did work very hard. Her sisters hated her because she had two eyes like normal people, and her mother hated her because she was not special like her sisters.

One day, the mother decided that it was time for her daughters to get married.

‘Three-Eyed will get married to a rich businessman, because she is so beautiful. One-Eyed will get married to a doctor, because she is so clever.’

‘And who will I get married to, Mother?’ asked Two-Eyed.

‘Nobody!’ she cried. ‘You will not get married to anyone. You will stay at home and look after your mother.’

So the old woman prepared her oldest and youngest daughters to get married. She painted a second eye on One-Eyed’s face, so that she had two eyes. Then she took some horse hair and made a fringe to put on Three-Eyed’s head, so that people could not see her third eye.

‘There!’ she said. ‘Now everyone will want to marry you!’

A few days later, a man came round looking for a wife.

‘Come in, come in!’ said the old woman. ‘Perhaps you would like to marry my oldest daughter, who is very pretty?’

The man looked at Three-Eyed and said, ‘Hmm, I think not.’

‘Well, perhaps you would prefer my youngest daughter? She is very clever.’

The man saw One-Eyed and said, ‘No, I do not like her. Where is the middle daughter?’

‘Oh no, she is not beautiful or clever. You do not want to marry her.’

Two-Eyed was in the next room. She had seen the man through the window, and he looked very nice. So she walked into the room.

‘Hello,’ she said.

‘Ah! This is the daughter I want to marry.’

‘No, no!’ said the mother. ‘She does not want to get married.’

‘But Mother, I—’

‘Goodbye!’

And the mother pushed the man out of the door and shut it. Suddenly, the old woman, Three-Eyed and One-Eyed all turned on Two-Eyed.

‘You think you are so clever, don’t you?’ said the mother. ‘You cannot get married. I already told you.’

‘You are not beautiful!’ said Three-Eyed.

‘Or clever!’ said One-Eyed.