Guided Sleep Meditation & Sleep Hypnosis from Sleep Cove - A Cozy Fairy Tale - Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree (The Scottish Snow White)

Episode Date: January 25, 2026

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please go to sleepcove.com slash support. That's sleepcove.com slash support. If you can't support the show right now, please subscribe with a bell to get alerts on all new free content Thank you Have you ever gazed in wonder at the Great Pyramid Have you marvelled at the golden face of Tudankhamun

Or admired the delicate features of Queen Nefertiti If you have, you'll probably like the History of Egypt podcast Every week we explore tales of this ancient culture The history of Egypt is available wherever you get your podcasting fix. Come, let me introduce you to the world of ancient Egypt. Hi and welcome to Sleep Cove, with me, Christopher Vizzen, the best place to get a great night's sleep. This week in Scotland, they celebrate the poet Robert Burns. So tonight, I'm reading a Scottish fairy tale called God.

Gold Tree and Silver Tree. This story is quite reminiscent of Snow White, and it involves a Princess stepdaughter and her wicked stepmother queen. I really hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe with the bell. Begin. Gold Tree and Silver Tree. In bygone days, there lived a little princess named Gold Tree.

and she was one of the prettiest children in the whole world. Although her mother was dead, she had a very happy life, for her father loved her dearly, and thought that nothing was too much trouble, so long as it gave his little daughter pleasure. But by and by, he married again, and then the little princesses sorrows began. For his new wife, whose name, curious to say, was silver tree, was very beautiful,

but she was also very jealous, and she made herself quite miserable for fear that someday she should meet someone who was better looking than she was herself. When she thought, that her stepdaughter was so very pretty. She took a dislike to her at once, and was always looking at her, and wondering if people would think her prettier than she was. And because, in her heart of hearts,

she was afraid that they would do so. She was very unkind indeed to the poor girl. When Princess Gold Tree, was quite grown up. The two ladies went for a walk to a little well which lay all surrounded by trees in the middle of a deep glen. Now the water in this well was so clear that everyone who looked into it saw his face reflected on the surface and the proud queen loved to come and peeped into its depths so that she could see her own picture mirrored in the water. But today, as she was looking in, what should she see but her little trout, which was swimming

quietly backwards and forwards, not very far from the surface? Trouty Trouty, answer me this one question, said the Queen. not the most beautiful woman in the world. No, indeed, you are not, replied the trout promptly, jumping out of the water as he spoke in order to swallow a fly. Who is the most beautiful woman then? Asked the disappointed queen, for she had expected a far different answer. thy stepdaughter, the princess gold-tree, without a doubt, said the little fish,

then frightened by the black look that came upon the jealous queen's face. He dived to the bottom of the well. It was no wonder that he did so, for the queen's expression was not pleasant to look at, as she darted an angry glance. at her fair young stepdaughter, who was busy picking flowers some little distance away. She was so annoyed at the thought that anyone should say that the girl was prettier than she was. But she quite lost her self-control. And when she reached home, she went up in her violet passion to her room and threw herself on the bed,

declaring that she felt very ill indeed. It was in vain that Princess Girl Tree asked her what the matter was, and if she could do anything for her. She would not let the poor girl touch her, but pushed her away as if she had some evil thing. So at last the princess had to leave her alone, and go out of the apartment, feeling very sad indeed. By and by, the king came home from his hunting,

and he at once asked for the queen. He was told that she had been seized with sudden illness, and that she was lying on her bed in her own room, and that no one, not even the court physician, who had been hastily summoned, could make out what was wrong with her in great anxiety, for he really loved her. The king went up to her bedside and asked the queen how she felt, and if there was anything that he could do to relieve her.

Yes, there is one thing that thou couldest do, she answered harshly, but I know for well that, even though it is the only thing that will cure me, thou will not do it. Nay, said the king, I deserve better words at thy mouth these days. For thou knowest that I would give thee aught thou carest to ask, even if it be the half of my kingdom. Then give me thy daughter's heart to eat. cried the queen, for unless I can obtain that, I will die. She spoke so wildly and looked at him in such a great fashion that the king really thought that her brain was turned, and he was at his wits' end

what to do. He left the room and paced up and down the corridor in great distress. Until at last, He remembered that that very morning the son of a great king had arrived from a country far over the sea, asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. Here is a way out of this difficulty, he said to himself, This marriage pleaseth me well, and I will have it celebrated at once. then when my daughter is safe out of the country I will send a lad of the hillside and he shall kill a he goat and I will have its heart prepared and dressed

and send it up to my wife perhaps the sight of it will kill her of this madness so he had the strange prince summoned before him and told him how the queen had taken a sudden illness that had wrought on her brain and he caused her to take a dislike to the princess and how it seemed as if it would be a good thing if with the maiden's consent the marriage could take place at once so that the queen might be left alone to recover from her strange malady. Now the prince was delighted to gain his bride so easily, and the princess was glad to escape from her stepmother's hatred, so the marriage took place

at once, and the newly wedded pair set off across the sea for the prince's country. Then the king sent a lad to the hillside to kill a heat goat, and when it was killed, he gave orders that his heart should be dressed and cooked and sent to the queen's apartment on a silver dish. And the wicked woman tasted it, believing it to be the heart of her stepdaughter. and when she had done so, she rose from her bed and went out about the king's castle, looking as well and hearty as ever. I am so glad to be able to tell you that the marriage of Princess Goldtree, which had come about in such a hurry, turned out to be a great success for the prince, whom she had wedded was rich and great and powerful and he loved her dearly, and she was as happy as the day was long,

so things went peacefully on for a year. Queen Silvertree was satisfied and contented because she thought that her stepdaughter was dead, while all the time the princess was happy and prosperous, in her new home. But at the end of the year, it chanced that the queen went once more to the well in that little glen in order to see her face reflected in the water. And it chanced also that the same little trout were swimming backwards and forwards, just as he had done the year before, and the foolish queen determined to have a better answer to her question this time

than she had last. She whispered, Trouty-trouty, leaning over the edge of the well. Am I not the most beautiful woman? Thou art not, answered the trout in his very straightforward one away. Who is the most beautiful woman then? asked the queen. Her face growing pale at the thought that she had yet another rival. Why, your majesty's stepdaughter, the princess girl tree, to be sure, answered the trout. The queen threw back her head with a sigh of relief. Well, at any rate, people cannot admire her now, she said, for it is a year since she died, I ate her heart for my supper.

Art thou sure of that, your majesty, asked the trout, with a twinkle in his eye. Me thinks it is, but a year, since she married the gallant young prince, who came from abroad to see, her hand and returned with him to his own country. With the Queen heard these words, she turned quite cold with rage, for she knew that her husband had deceived her, and she rose from her knees and went straight

home to the palace, and hiding her anger at best she could, she asked him if she asked him if he would give orders to have the long ship made ready as she wished to go and visit her dear stepdaughter, for it was such a very long time since she had seen her. The king was somewhat surprised at her request, but he was only too glad to think that she had got over her hatred towards his daughter, and he gave orders that the long ship should be made already at once. Soon it was speeding over the water, its prow turned in the direction of the land where the princess lived, steered by the queen herself, for she knew the course that the boat ought to take and she was in such haste to be at her journey's end that she would allow no one else to take the hell.

Now it chanced that Princess Gold Tree was alone that day For her husband had gone a hunting And she looked out of one of the castle windows As she saw the boat going sailing over the sea Towards the Lending Place She recognised it as her father's long ship And she guessed only too well whom it carried on board.

She was almost, beside herself with terror, ever thought, for she knew that it was for no good purpose that Queen Silver Tree had taken the trouble to set out to visit her, and she felt that she would have given almost anything she possessed if her husband had been at home. In her distress, she hurried. into the servants hall. What shall I do? What shall I do? she cried, for I see my father's longship coming over the sea, and I know that my stepmother is on board, and is she hath a chance she will kill me, for she hateth me more than anything else upon earth. Now the servants worshipped the ground that they are yet.

young mistress Tronon, but she was always kind and considerate to them, and when they saw how frightened she was and heard her piteous words, they crowded round her, to shield her away from any harm that threatened her. Do not be afraid, Your Highness, they cried. We will defend thee with our very lives, if need be. But in case thy great lady stepmother should have the power to throw any evil spell over thee, we will lock thee in the great mullient chamber, then she cannot get nigh thee at all. Now the mullient chamber was a strong room, which was in a part of the castle all by itself, and its door was so thick that no one could possibly break through it.

And the princess knew that if she was once inside the room, with its stout open door between her and a stepmother, she would be perfectly safe from any mischief that the wicked woman would devise. so she consented to her faithful servant's suggestion and allowed them to lock her in the mullioned chamber. So it came to pass that when the queen silvertry arrived at the great door of the castle and commanded the lackey who opened it to take her to his royal mistress, he told her with a low bow that it was impossible because the princess was locked in the strong room of the castle

and could not get out because no one knew where the key was. Which was quite true, for the old butler had tied it round the neck of the prince's favourite sheepdog and sent him away to the hills to sink his master. Take me to the door of the apartment, commanded the queen. At least I can speak to my dear daughter through it. And the lucky, who did not see what harm could possibly come from this, did as he was bid. If the key is really lost, and thou cast not come out to welcome me, dear gold tree, said the deceitful queen, at least, put thy little finger through the keyhole

that I may kiss it. The princess did so, never dreaming that evil would come to her through such a simple action, but it did, for instead of kissing the tiny finger, her stepmother stabbed it with a poisoned needle, and so deadly was the poison, that before she could utter a single cry, the poor princess fell as one dead on the floor. When she heard the fall, a smile of satisfaction crept over the queen's silver tree's face. Now I can say that I am the handsomest woman in the world, she whispered, And she went back to the lackey who stood waiting at the end of the passage and told him that she had said all that she needed to say to her daughter and now she must return home. So the man attended to the boat with all due ceremony and she set sail for her own country.

And no one in the castle knew that any harm had withfallen their dear mission. until the prince came home from his hunting with a key of the armoured chamber which he had taken from his sheepdog's neck in his hand. He laughed when he heard the story of Queen Silver Tree's visit and told the servants that they had done well. Then he ran upstairs to open the door and release his wife. But what was his horror and dismay when he did so, to find her lying dead at his feet on the floor? He was nearly beside himself with rage and grief, and because he knew that a deadly poison such as Queen Silver Tree had used would preserve the princess's body so that it had no need of burial. He had laid it on a silken couch and left it in the armoured chamber so that he could go and look at it whenever he pleased.

He was so terribly lonely, however, that in a little time he married again and his second wife was just as sweet and as good as the first one had been. The new wife was very happy. There was only one little thing that caused her any trouble at all, and she was too sensible to let it make her miserable. The one thing was that there was a room of the castle, a room which stood on the end of a passage by itself, which she could never enter, as her husband always carried the key, and as when she asked him the matter of this, He always made an excuse of some kind. She made up her mind that she would not seem as if she did not trust him,

so she asked no more questions about the matter. But one day the prince chanced to leave the door unlocked, and as he had never told her not to do so, she went in, and there she saw Princess Gold Tree lying on the silken couch, looking as if she was asleep. Is she dead, or is she only sleeping? She said to herself, and she went up to the couch

and looked closely at the princess, sticking in her little finger. She discovered a curiously shaped needle. There have been evil work here, she thought to herself, If that needle be not poisoned, then I know naught of medicine. And being skilled in leechcraft, she drew it carefully out. In a moment, Princess Coltree opened her eyes and sat up,

and presently she had recovered sufficiently to tell the other princess the whole story. Now, if her stepmother had been jealous, the other princess was not jealous at all, for when she heard all that had happened, she clapped her little hands, crying, Oh, how glad the prince will be, for although he hath married again, I know that he loves the best. That night the prince came home from hunting, looking very tired and sad, for what his second wife had said was quite true. Although he loved her very much, he was always mourning in his heart for his first dear love, Princess Goultrie. How sad art thou? exclaimed his wife, going out to meet him.

is there nothing that I can do to bring a smile to thy face? Nothing, answered the prince wearily, laying down his bow, for he was too heart-sore, even to pretend to be happy. Except to give the back gaultry, said his wife, mischievously, and that can I do, but thou wilt find her alive and love. well in the armoured chamber. Without a word, the prince ran upstairs, and sure enough, there was his dear gold tree, sitting on the couch, ready to welcome him. He was so overjoyed to see her, that he threw

his arms around her neck, and kissed her over and over, quite forgetting, his poor second wife, who had followed him upstairs, and who now stood watching the meeting that she had brought about. She did not seem to be sorry for herself, however. I always knew that thou heart yearned after Princess Gold Tree, she said, and it is but right it should be so, for she was thy first love, and she hath come to life again. I will go back to mine own people. No, indeed, thou wilt not, answer the prince, for it is thou who has brought me this joy, thou wilt stay with us, and we shall all three live happily together, and gold tree and thee will become great friends.

And so it came to pass, the princess, gold tree, and the other princess soon became like sisters, and loved each other as if they had been brought up together. all their lives. In this manner, another year passed away, and one evening, in the old country, Queen Silver Tree went, as she had done before, to look at her face in the water of the little well in the glen, and as had happened twice before, the trout was there. Trouty, trouty, she whispered. I the most beautiful woman in the world. By my troth, thou art not, answered the trout,

as he had answered on the two previous occasions. And who, dothed thou say, is the most beautiful woman now? asked the queen, her voice trembling with rage and vexation. I have given her name to thee these two. Two years back, answered the Trout, the Princess Gold Tree, of course. But she is dead, laughed at the Queen. I am sure of her this time. For it is just a year since I stabbed her little finger with a poison needle, and I heard her fall down dead on the floor.

I would not be so sure of that, answered the Trout, and without saying another word, He dived straight down to the bottom of the well. After hearing his mysterious words, the queen could not rest. And at last, she asked her husband to have the long ship prepared once more so that she could go and see her stepdaughter. The king gave the order gladly, and it all happened as it had happened before. She steered the ship over the sea with her own hands, and when it was approaching the land, it was seen and recognised by Princess Gold Tree.

The prince was out hunting, and the princess ran in great terror to her friend the other princess, who was upstairs in her chamber. Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do? She cried, for I see my father's longship coming, and I know that my cruel stepmother is on board, and she will try to kill me, as she tried to kill me before. Oh, come, let us escape to the hills. Not at all, replied the other princess. throwing her arms round the trembling or tree. I'm not afraid of thy lady stepmother.

Come with me, and we will go down to the seashore together to greet her. So they both went down to the edge of the water, and when Queen Silver Tree saw her stepdaughter coming, she pretended to be very glad, as she sprang out of the boat and ran to meet her and held out of silver goblets full of wine for her to drink.

Tis rare wine from the east, she said, and therefore very precious, I brought a flagon with me so that we might pledge each other in a loving cup. Princess Coltree, who was ever gentle and gentle, courteous, would have stretched out her hand for the cup, had not the other princess stepped between her and her stepmother. Nay, madam, she said gravely, looking the queen straight in the face.

It is the custom in this land for the one who offers a loving drink to drink from it first herself. I will follow the custom gladly, answered the queen, and she raised the goblet to her mouth. But the other princess, who was watching for closely, noticed that she did not allow the wine that it contained to touch her lips. So she stepped forward, and as if by accident, struck the bottom of the goblet with her shoulder. Part of its contents. flew into the queen's face and part before she could shut her mouth

went down her throat so because of her wickedness she was as the good book says caught in her own net for she had made the wine so poisonous that almost before she had

swallowed it she fell dead at the two princess's feet no one was sorry for her for she really deserved her fate, and they buried her hastily in a lonely piece of ground, and very soon everybody had forgotten all about her. As for Princess Coltree, she lived happily and peacefully with her husband and her friend for the remainder of her life.