English Original
Once upon a time, there lived a rich merchant whose greatest treasure was his only daughter, Catherine.
One day, a tall, beautiful woman holding a small wheel appeared before Catherine. "Which would you rather have," she asked, "a happy youth or a happy old age?" After a moment's thought, Catherine chose a happy old age. "So be it," said the woman, who was Catherine's Destiny, and vanished.
Soon after, the merchant lost all his wealth and died, leaving Catherine penniless. She became a servant, but wherever she went, her Destiny would appear, wreaking havoc and forcing her to flee. This pattern continued for seven years.
Finally, Catherine found a kind mistress. Part of her duty was to take bread to a mountaintop as an offering to her mistress's Destiny. One day, weeping over her past, Catherine confided in her mistress. The mistress suggested Catherine ask her own Destiny for mercy through this intermediary.
Catherine did so. Her mistress's Destiny relayed the plea to Catherine's own Destiny, who lay buried under seven coverlids. The next day, Catherine was led to her Destiny and received a simple ball of silk.
Disappointed, Catherine kept the silk. Later, the king needed a rare silk to complete his wedding garment. Catherine's silk was a perfect match. At court, the king offered its weight in gold, but the silk outweighed all his treasures, even his crown. Only when the crown was added did the scales balance.
Impressed and moved by her story and beauty, the king married Catherine instead, making her his queen. She lived happily ever after.
中文翻译
从前，有一位富有的商人，他最大的财富是他的独生女凯瑟琳。
一天，一位手持小轮的高挑美丽女子出现在凯瑟琳面前。她问道：“你更想要哪一个，幸福的青年时期，还是幸福的晚年？”凯瑟琳思索片刻，选择了幸福的晚年。“如你所愿，”这位女子——凯瑟琳的命运女神——说完便消失了。
不久后，商人倾家荡产，郁郁而终，留下凯瑟琳身无分文。她成为了一名女仆，但无论她去哪里，她的命运女神都会出现，大肆破坏，迫使她逃离。这种模式持续了七年。
最终，凯瑟琳遇到了一位善良的女主人。她的部分职责是带着面包到山顶，作为给她女主人命运女神的祭品。一天，凯瑟琳想起往事不禁哭泣，向女主人倾诉。女主人建议凯瑟琳通过这位命运女神向自己的命运祈求怜悯。
凯瑟琳照做了。她女主人的命运女神将请求转达给了凯瑟琳自己的命运女神，后者正躺在七层被褥之下。第二天，凯瑟琳被带到她的命运女神面前，收到了一个简单的丝线球。
凯瑟琳很失望，但还是保存了丝线。后来，国王需要一种稀有丝线来完成他的结婚礼服。凯瑟琳的丝线颜色正合适。在宫廷里，国王提出用等重的黄金交换，但这团丝线比国王所有的财宝都重，甚至比他的王冠还重。直到把王冠也放上去，天平才平衡。
国王被凯瑟琳的故事和美貌所打动，转而娶了她，立她为后。从此，她过上了幸福的生活。