Mmhmm! And so of course the little princess was terribly upset by this, and wished there were something she could do to break their curse. But the brothers said no, there was nothing that could be done, because the only way to break the curse would be for someone attempting it to go six long years without ever smiling or laughing or speaking a word, and to sew six shirts out of asters and thistles in the meantime for the brothers to wear instead.

But the little princess loved her brothers very much, and told them that without her father or brothers, she'd have no reason to smile or laugh or speak a word anyway, and her resolve was so strong and her heart so pure that she vowed to set out at once to free them of their curse.

And so she went away from the robber's den and made herself a little home in the forest, and began to collect thistles and asters to sew her little shirts. And she neither smiled nor laughed nor spoke a word; day in and day out, she simply sat alone and sewed, and sewed, and sewed.