Ha! The princess doesn’t see that she has lost the precious handkerchief that holds her mother’s blood. I watch it go tumbling downstream.

Now I have her in my power! “Don’t even think about getting back up on your high horse,” I tell her. “Your horse is mine. And while you’re at it, give me your clothes. And if you dare speak one word about this, I will have you killed on the spot!”

The Betraying Waiting Maid in The Goose Girl, Grimms. Illustration by H.J. Ford.