The Queen's Keepsake

The princess got ready to depart for the distant kingdom. So the old queen … gave her everything that suited a royal dowry. … She also gave her a chambermaid, who was to accompany her and deliver her safely into the hands of her bridegroom. Each received a horse for the journey, but the princess's horse was named Falada and could speak. … Then she placed a white handkerchief underneath her finger, let three drops of blood fall on it, and gave it to her daughter.
"My dear child,' she said, "take good care of these three drops, for they will help you on your journey when you're in need.'
Three drops of blood, discrete
as berries, upon a cloth:
the ellipses of womanhood…
She carried it near her breasts.
When the maid turned on her
and would not fetch water from
the river — a draught of the water
of life in her jewelled cup —
the princess got down from her steed
and lay on reedy earth,
her lips touching the stream
and moving as if in speech…
Then the kerchief loosed itself
and slid across coils of
silver, crying out:
Ah, if your mother knew,
her heart would break in two!
— the blood-drops no longer
a charm to keep her safe on
the journey to the new kingdom.