Magic of 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon': A Fairy Tale Adventure

In the fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," a poor farmer is visited by a White Bear who offers to make him rich in exchange for his youngest daughter. After initial reluctance, the daughter agrees and is taken to a magical castle where she lives in luxury, with a mysterious prince who transforms into a bear by day. Despite her happiness, she grows lonely and longs to see her family. After visiting her parents, she is warned by the bear not to be alone with her mother. Ignoring this advice, she learns from her mother to light a candle to see her prince, which leads to disastrous consequences, as she accidentally curses him by dropping wax on him. He reveals that he is cursed by a stepmother to live as a bear, and she must find him in a castle east of the sun and west of the moon, where he must marry a princess with a long nose. She embarks on a quest, facing numerous trials and receiving help from three old hags and the winds until she reaches the castle. She cleverly uses gold items to negotiate with the long-nosed princess to see her prince multiple times, but is unable to wake him until she uses her final item, a golden spinning wheel. When she finally frees him, they thwart the wedding to the long-nosed princess and the sorceress, liberating the captive Christians along the way. The story concludes with the prince and princess fleeing, leaving the dark past behind as they embrace their new lives together.