The Three Trials by Fern Miller - 2026 Fantasy Writing Competition 1st Place Winner

The Three Trials

Based on “The Queen Bee” by the Brothers Grimm.

Once Upon A Time, there were a triplet of brothers living in Northern Scotland who were told to leave home and find livelihoods. The elder brothers, Peter and Finn, decided to go to Edinburgh, believing their genius would secure them well-paying jobs and beautiful wives. When they asked their parents for funds, they were told that they must take their third brother, Sam, with them. 

Unlike his brothers, who constantly went to parties and pub crawls, Sam preferred the nature of the countryside. He disliked the thought of leaving his quiet paradise for a crowded city, and his brothers would rather abandon the deadweight behind. But they needed the money, so all three boarded the train for Edinburgh.

After half an hour, when the train stopped at a rural station, it was announced that an accident had occurred on the line ahead, meaning that the journey was now cancelled. The elder pair were enraged, for they wanted to get to Edinburgh as soon as possible, so they searched for alternative transport. But the only way to reach Edinburgh was to get another train at the next town over, accessed by walking through a wooded glen. So, reluctantly dragging their brother behind them, they set off on the Highland path. 

Shortly, Sam was racing ahead of his brothers, navigating the trees and scavenging for berries while his brothers complained about everything. As they sat arguing over the last chocolate bar, Sam peacefully watched a colony of ants carry food to their anthill.

“What are you staring at?” asked Peter. 

“Urgh,” startled Finn, “there’s ants! Quick, step on the hill. Get rid of them.” 

“No,” yelled Sam. “That will anger them more. Just leave them alone.” 

“Oh look Pete, Sammy-wammy is protecting the pests.”

“Have you made yourself some new friends? ... Awwww.” 

The pair laughed, stomping their feet and crushing several innocent ants. Sam quickly dragged them away from the hill, reminding them that they needed to get to town before dark.

And so, the brothers continued their journey but soon became hungry as they rested by a small loch. The elder brothers spotted some ducks sleeping nearby and decided that they would have roast duck for dinner, so they pushed Sam towards the loch to capture their tea. But Sam was a vegetarian and loved ducks, so as he reached the loch side, he whispered to the sitting ducks.

“My brothers want to roast you ... fly away, quickly!” 

Suddenly, the ducks shot into the sky, starting poor Sam who fell backwards into the mud. He lay there, soaked, while his brothers yelled at him for losing their dinner. Afterwards, they walked in silence till the sun began to set behind the trees. Peter was hungry. Finn tired. Sam was soaked through. They decided to give in and make camp for the night and reach town in the morning. So, Sam found a large tree and told his brothers that they could gather leaves and branches to build a shelter. But his brothers decided to find firewood first, leaving Sam alone to build.

As Sam climbed up to secure some branches, he heard buzzing over his head and saw a beehive above. He realized that the bees may feel threatened by their presence, so decided to find another tree for the den, but when he returned, his brothers had already lit a fire under the tree. 

“Stop, stop. There’s a beehive up there – you'll suffocate the bees.” 

“So?” asked Peter. “Who cares? They’re just dumb pests. We matter more.” 

Sam lunged at the fire, tearing it apart and killing the flame. His enraged brothers attacked him, beating him to the ground. Sam tried to climb up the tree, but his brothers pulled him down and fell backwards, dragging poor Sam with them. They fell through the bushes and tumbled down a hidden slope, hitting many rocks as they went down.  

When they finally reached the bottom, they found themselves in front of a pair of old gates held together by ivy. A solitary lamp illuminated the gate and the sign below: “Inn.” As the brothers approached the gate, it slowly creaked open to reveal the shadow of a large manor house ahead, with a single light coming from an upstairs window. A silent understanding crossed the brothers, and they entered the estate. 

Crossing the overgrown cobbles and weathered arches, the brothers found statues of horses, dogs and people scattered in the most inconvenient places. Sam nearly tripped over a stone cat as Peter and Finn rapidly knocked on the front door. It was old, like those of fairytale castles, with fancy chandelier lights and a beautifully carved lion-shaped knocker glaring above them, which Sam lifted then slammed. The noise echoed inside the house, silencing the brothers in its grandeur, before being replaced by a slow thud. A dim light crept underneath the door and suddenly it opened, revealing a ghostly caretaker, with wrinkled pale skin and bright white hair, stood in front of them, carrying a cane and old lantern. 

He beckoned the trio to follow and led them through the manor to a brightly lit grand hall with a magnificent feast. As the brothers ate, he silently stood by the fireplace, unfazed by the string of questions, loud banter or the chicken leg Peter threw at him. His statue demeanour remained as he led the trio to their rooms and left them for the night.

The following day, he brought Sam to the hall for breakfast, where he found Finn restlessly pacing back and forth, anxious to leave. But Peter never came down. Eventually, the pair decided to look for him, but when they tried to leave, they found that the door was bolted shut, and the windows had all been boarded up, so they had no choice but to stay and wait. When the caretaker did return, it was to bring the pair lunch, which he silently performed oblivious to the pair’s questions about Peter or their entrapment. Dinner was the same, and when Sam returned for breakfast in the morning, he found that Finn too was missing.

Upon the third morning, the caretaker led him down the hall to a large room overlooking the garden. There, he found a large painting of a nobleman with a plaque underneath it:

“My sinful past has cursed this estate,

And in their stone slumber my family must wait

For a good soul to come and save us all 

To the reward of the estate and hall.” 

Sam stared at the plaque and realised that this was why the caretaker had kept them here. He wanted them to undo the curse. But if he was asking him to do this, had he also asked his brothers? They would do anything for a quick buck, he knew that. So where were they?

“Where are my brothers?” 

The caretaker stared right at him, then slowly walked outside. Sam followed him, and came to a stone patio in the woods, on which a sundial and a tall stone figure with a large bowl stood. When he looked inside, he saw about two hundred pearls in the bowl and an inscription on the inner rim:

“To retrieve the family ring so loved and treasured

The thousand-pearl necklace must be returned and measured.”  

He looked to the caretaker, who was stood by the sundial and pointing to the woods, full of rocks, tree stumps and long grass. But all Sam saw was the two statues climbing to the patio, both young men with pearls in their hands and pain on their faces. Sam trembled in fear as he recognized his brothers.

The caretaker pointed to the sunset etching on the sundial, and again at the brothers, before silently returning to the house.

Motivated by the fatal fate of his brothers, Sam searched for hours in the bushes, climbing up trees to find as many hidden pearls as he could. But although he searched every nook and cranny, he barely found another hundred to add to the bowl. So as the deadline began to loom over him, he collapsed on a stone and wept, accepting the fate that was to befall him. 

But as he sat there, bawling his eyes out, a miracle came. A thousand miracles to be exact. A thousand little ants, grateful for his compassion, marched across the woods and began to collect the pearls. So, when Sam looked up from his miserable state and saw the shiny parade, he bolted up and carefully made his way to the statue, where he collected the pearls and placed them into the bowl. As soon as he placed the last pearl into the bowl, a compartment at the statue’s feet opened, revealing the family ring amongst the cobwebs.

When he returned up the path, he found the caretaker expecting him, holding a small set of keys in his hand. He led Sam to a small gate in the garden, which he unlocked to reveal a beautiful pond covered surrounded by reeds and candlelight lamps. On a bench, Sam found another inscription:

“Wade in the pond and see

If you can find the bedroom key.” 

So, Sam dived into the pond and began to pull out rocks and weeds as the caretaker stood by the gate. But the pond was dirty and deep, so Sam could neither see nor search beyond the shallows. However, as he frantically searched, he heard a quack from the sky and saw two ducks fly in onto the pond. They dived down under the water, and soon returned with a key in their beaks, which they graciously set by Sam’s feet before bowing and flying away.

With the ring and key in his possession, Sam returned to the house, his squelching footsteps accompanying the caretaker’s cane’s slow thuds as they climbed up the stairs higher and higher into the house. Eventually, as they entered the attic, Sam saw a magnificent wooden door, carved with the image of three dancing maidens, half hidden by the light creeping through the cracks from the other side. On the door, Sam found the final inscription:

“My eldest daughter painted handsome knights,

My middle child loved to sing the stories she writes,

My youngest girl tended a garden with plants diverse.

On her finger, you must place the ring to end our curse.” 

As Sam turned the pond key into the loch, he opened the door to find a bright bedroom, decked in colour and filled with paintings, pieces of paper and flowers, though the latter had sadly withered away with age. Unaged however were the three maidens that lay sleeping in three beds: a red-head, brunette and blonde. They were all beautiful, and so similar, that Sam was unsure how to tell who was the youngest. He sat there puzzled as the caretaker watched with a penetrating stare at Sam.

 Stuck in a rut, he opened the window to let some fresh air in, hoping to clear his head. As he sat, he heard a familiar buzz and saw a large bee fly through the window into the room. She flew over the blonde maiden, the brunette and the redhead, but circled back and rested on the brunette’s hands. As Sam looked closer, he saw that the bee had found pollen on her fingers and realised that she was the young gardener.

Gently taking her cold hand, Sam slipped the family ring onto her finger, and she sprung with life. She was greeted by the caretaker, who was her cursed father now free from his vow of silence. Her sisters wakened, and all those trapped in the estate were released, including Sam’s brothers, who soon left for Edinburgh. But while they endured lives of hardship and cruelty, Sam lived on the estate with his new bride, and together they enjoyed nature’s company, never forgetting the kindness it gave in their time of need.