Andrew Lang

The Red Fairy Book

Michael, called the Star Gazer, leaves home after a recurring dream leads him to Beloeil and a princess he is meant to marry. Taken on as a gardener’s boy, he finds magical help from laurel trees and discovers that the twelve princesses slip away each night through hidden woods to a lake and a dance with twelve princes. Patient, brave, and discreet, Michael keeps their secret even as the youngest princess grows uneasy and the sisters begin to argue over what should happen next.