A woman was out in the fields with her daughter and stepdaughter, cutting grass, when the Lord approached them disguised as a poor man and asked, "Which way is it to the village?" The mother replied, "Find it yourself," and the daughter added, "If you're worried you won't find it, get a guide." But the stepdaughter said, "Poor man, I'll take you there. Come with me."
God was angry with the mother and daughter and turned his back on them, wishing they would become as dark as night and as ugly as sin. However, God was kind to the stepdaughter and went with her. When they were near the village, he blessed her and said, "Choose three things for yourself, and I will grant them to you." The girl said, "I want to be as beautiful and fair as the sun," and instantly she became white and fair as day. "Then I want a purse of money that never runs out." God granted her this too but said, "Don't forget what's most important." She replied, "For my third wish, I want to live in the eternal kingdom of Heaven after I die." This was also granted, and then God left her.
When the stepmother came home with her daughter and saw they were both as black as coal and ugly, while the stepdaughter was white and beautiful, their wickedness grew, and they thought only of harming her. The stepdaughter had a brother named Reginer, whom she loved dearly, and she told him everything that had happened. One day, Reginer said to her, "Dear sister, I want to paint your likeness so I can always see you, for my love for you is so great that I want to look at you all the time." She replied, "But please, don't let anyone else see the picture." So he painted his sister and hung the picture in his room; he lived in the King's palace because he was the coachman. Every day he stood before the picture and thanked God for having such a dear sister.
Now, the King he served had just lost his wife, who had been so beautiful that no one could compare to her, and he was deeply grieving. The court attendants noticed the coachman standing daily before the beautiful picture and grew jealous, so they informed the King. The King ordered the picture to be brought to him, and when he saw it looked just like his lost wife, only more beautiful, he fell deeply in love with it. He summoned the coachman and asked who the portrait was of. The coachman said it was his sister, so the King decided to marry her and gave him a carriage, horses, and splendid clothes of gold to fetch his chosen bride.
