Once there were three brothers. They worked as miners, digging in the mountains for gold and precious gems. They worked together for many years; always they were on good terms and helped each other when one had difficulties. They enjoyed their lives working far away from the cities, occasionally visiting the near-by town to trade their finds and buy food and wine and tools for their mines.
One day while they were in the town they stopped at a tavern to get refreshment before their journey home. In the tavern they saw three girls, two were serving Masters and the third was dancing in the sandy pit at the back of the tavern.
One of the girls had raven black hair and skin the color of creamy blackwine. He eyes were dark and she was serving a Master dressed in rich robes of a physician. The oldest brother saw her and desired her for his own. He approached the tavern owner and asked about the girl.
“Aye” said the owner, “I would sell her, but my price will be high.”
The brother looked at the girl once more and his heart beat faster.
“What is your price?” the oldest brother asked the tavern owner.
The owner told the brother and the brother said he would return in the next month to buy her. He hoped to mine enough so that his share would pay for the girl.
The second girl was fair, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. Her skin was like porcelain and as she knelt to serve a group of warriors, the middle brother knew that he must have the girl for his own. He approached the tavern owner and inquired about the girl.
“Aye” said the owner, “I would sell her, but my price will be high.”
The brother looked at the girl once more and his heart beat faster.
“What is your price?” the middle brother asked the tavern owner.
The owner told the brother and the brother said he would return in the next month to buy her. He hoped to mine enough so that his share would pay for the girl.
The third girl had rich brown hair, long and shiny; it fell down her back in cascades to her waist. Her skin was lightly tanned and her eyes were bright emerald green. The youngest brother watched the girl as she danced and his heart was filled with love for her. He approached the tavern owner and asked if she was for sale.
“No” said the tavern owner. “She is my favorite and I will not sell her”
The youngest brother pleaded and offered the tavern owner gold and gems and a fortune if he would only sell the girl. But the tavern owner would not change his mind.
The three brothers sat at a table and drank ale and talked of the girls. Each claimed his favorite the most beautiful. The two older brothers spoke excitedly about how they would mine all month and return to buy their girls. The youngest sat in silence, sad that he was unable to buy the girl he loved. As they sat there, the tavern owner watched them but he spoke no more to the brothers and at last they left for the mountains.
All that month the three brothers worked hard. The oldest two were determined to mine enough to buy the girls their hearts desired. The youngest, although he knew that he could not buy his beloved, yet was kind hearten and wished for his brothers to be happy. That month they all worked hard, digging in the mine for long hours, each night counting the gold they had dug from the ground. All this time, the youngest brother worked harder that either of his brothers. In part he wished them to be able to buy their girls, but in the most part, he found that while her worked hard his own heart did not ache so badly.
At the end of the month the brothers were happy with their haul. They traveled to the town and went to the exchange to have their gold weighed. When it was spit three ways, as was their custom, it was a tidy sum. But it was not quite enough for the two older brothers to buy the girls from the tavern owner. The youngest brother saw the disappointment in their eyes, and split his take so that his brothers had enough and the youngest still had sufficient to pay for their provisions.
They went to the tavern and the oldest brother spoke to the tavern owner.
“Here is the price you asked, let me buy the black haired girl from you.” He asked.
“Did you earn all this yourself?” Asked the tavern owner.
The brother explained how they had worked and that still his share had not been sufficient and how his youngest brother had given him the extra he needed.
“Well, you have met my price, and I will sell you the girl. Her name is raven because of her hair” The tavern keeper took the money and handed raven to her new Master.
Next the second brother came to speak to the tavern owner.
“Here is the price you asked, let me buy the blond haired girl from you.” He asked.
“Did you earn all this yourself?” Asked the tavern owner.
The brother explained how they had worked and that still his share had not been sufficient and how his youngest brother had given him the extra he needed.
“Well, you have met my price, and I will sell you the girl. Her name is goldie because of her hair” The tavern keeper took the money and handed goldie to her new Master.
Then the tavern owner summoned the youngest brother to him.
“Do you not wish to make me another offer on the girl you liked?” he asked, knowing full well that the brother did not have any money to buy her.
“You said you would not sell her.” The brother answered. “I believed you, but do you now say that you will sell her when I have no money to pay for her?” He was distraught and feared that he had lost his chance to buy the girl he loved.
“You are right, I will not sell her.” The tavern owner replied. “But I have seen and heard what you have done for your brothers. You worked hard, though it benefited you nothing. And then you gave up your own coins so your brothers would be happy. You are a good man. A better man than I perhaps” He smiled, “And though I will not sell my girl to any man, I will give her to you as a gift.”
He called the brown haired girl to his side.
“This is your new Master, girl” He said and saw how their eyes locked and knew they were very much in love. “Her name is charity and she is yours.”
