A poor servant girl was traveling with her employer's family through a great forest when robbers attacked, killing everyone except her. She hid behind a tree and survived.
After the robbers left, she was lost and despairing. As evening fell, she sat under a tree and prayed. A white dove then appeared, bringing her a tiny golden key. It told her to use the key to open a lock on a nearby great tree. Inside, she found milk and bread. Later, the dove brought another key, leading her to a beautiful bed within another tree. The next morning, a third key revealed splendid garments.
The dove cared for her daily. One day, it asked for her help. It guided her to a small house, instructing her to ignore an old woman by the fire, enter a room full of glittering rings, and find only a plain one.
The girl obeyed. Inside the house, the old woman greeted her, but she remained silent and entered the room. Among the magnificent rings, she could not find the plain one. She noticed the old woman trying to sneak away with a birdcage. The girl took the cage and found a bird inside holding the plain ring in its bill.
She took the ring back joyously, but the dove did not come. As she leaned against a tree to wait, its branches softened, wrapped around her like arms, and transformed into a handsome man. He explained that the old woman was a wicked witch who had turned him into a tree. For two hours each day, he became the white dove. As long as the witch possessed the ring, he could not regain his human form.
Freed from the enchantment, his servants and horses, who had also been turned into trees, were restored. He was a king's son. He led them all to his kingdom, married the girl, and they lived happily ever after.