König Drosselbart (1965)

When Princess Roswitha Radbruch’s carriage gets into trouble during an outing, a stranger comes to the haughty king’s daughter’s aid. Once it has been repaired, the princess arrives late at her father King Löwenzahn’s celebration, where she is to choose a husband. But none of the noblemen present is good enough for the headstrong princess—not King Wenzel zu Weinreich the Thirteenth, Junker Balduin von Backenstreich, Prince Zacharias von Zackenschwert, Duke Adolar von Antenpfiff, Prince Kasimir, Count Eitelfritz von Supp, or even her father’s favorite, King Heinz Eduard. Instead, she mocks and ridicules her suitors. The stranger is there too, and because of his beard the princess immediately gives him the name “King Thrushbeard.” Her father is furious at his daughter’s behavior and decrees that she must marry the first beggar to appear at the castle. The stranger then appears at the castle gate disguised as a minstrel; the rejected suitors remind the now-hesitant king of his word. The protesting princess has no choice but to marry the minstrel. Afterward, the king banishes her from the castle, and she sets off with her husband. When she learns that the great forest, the green meadow, and the beautiful city belong to King Thrushbeard, she regrets not having taken him as her husband. When she insists on having an apple at the market, the minstrel teaches her a lesson: one must earn the fulfillment of one’s wishes. The spoiled princess also has to get used to life in a simple cottage without servants, as well as to working for a living. The minstrel’s attempts to teach her basket-weaving and spinning fail because the princess has little perseverance. A little later, she has her first success selling pots and jugs she has painted herself at the market. The next day, against the advice of those around her, she sits at the corner of the market to set herself apart from the other market women. A reckless rider—who later turns out to be King Thrushbeard—smashes her wares. Too ashamed to go home, she sits weeping in the forest. There she is found by a kitchen boy from the castle, who is gathering mushrooms, and he takes her with him. The princess thus becomes a kitchen maid to King Hans, unaware that she is in King Thrushbeard’s castle. At first, he has her searched for everywhere. On the cook’s advice, he holds a celebration at his castle and introduces the surprised gathering to the kitchen maid as Princess Roswitha and as his bride. At first, she does not recognize him as the minstrel and tries to run away. After King Hans reveals who he is, the princess overlooks the king’s deceptions; they marry and take a carriage ride into the forest.