Snowy-Blue & Rose-Pink

In a cottage bordering the forest lived a widow with her two daughters – Snowy-Blue and Rose-Pink. They weren’t rich, but by no means poor either, since they had each other to fill their lives with joy and happiness. As the girls often played in the woods, they made friends among the animals there. It wasn’t long before some followed them home, becoming regular guests at their house – ravens sitting by their windows, deer feasting on their grass, and the fox feeding its pups in their stable.
When winter arrived, the snow heavy and the air frosty, another knocked at their door. At first, the women were quite scared of the giant black bear filling the frame, but it explained, “I don’t mean any harm, I am just looking for a bit of shelter and warmth.”
They let it lie down in front of the hearth. The daughters sat down next to it, asking it about its life, “How come you can speak?” –– “I was human before a wizard cursed me.”, “Is it nice to be a bear?” –– “Mostly.”, “Do you have a family?” –– “Not anymore.” When they were finished with their questions, they played with the bear, though it always lost at hide and seek. Soon, Rose-Pink took to falling asleep curled against its furry belly.
The bear returned every day, even after the snow had melted and the sun warmed the earth. But it was Rose-Pink, whom it went on long walks with. They talked about everything and one day the girl asked, “Do you miss being human?” The animal smiled shyly, “Only when I remember I cannot kiss you.”
Rose-Pink could not help blushing at the words, her heart galloping in her chest. She took the bear’s paw into her own and whispered, “I will love you all the same.”

Whilst Snowy-Blue was happy for the love her sister had found, she tended to feel lonely from time to time. When she went out to gather some lumber, she heard a small voice cursing, “This damned wood, I curse you forest!”
Searching for its origin, Snowy-Blue stumbled onto a clearing. There, she spotted a young man, his beard stuck beneath a fallen tree. When he noticed the girl staring, he cried, “Why do you stand there? Can you not come here to help me?” But the girl wasn’t strong enough. “If only my sister and her fiancé were here.”
An idea came to her then, she pulled scissors from her skirt and cut off some of the beard. The man immediately sprang away, “Be ashamed, how dare you just cut off my precious beard? Bad luck to you!” He ran away, muttering under his breath.
Back home, Snowy-Blue forgot about the stranger until weeks later, the sisters heard cries for help near a river. The same man was struggling with an enormous fish dragging him into the water as his beard had tangled with the fishing line. The girls had no other choice but to cut off more of his beard. “Who allowed you to do this?” Called the man, his whole face reddened, “I curse you useless gooses! No one will ever see me as the man I am without my beard.”
Snowy-Blue stepped forward then, “Why do you let your beard define who you are?” It was as if those words had broken a spell. The two of them began talking, and the man shared his worries. “Only when I was finally able to grow a beard, did people see beyond the female body I was born in.”
The sisters invited their new friend home, and before long, they celebrated a twin wedding: Rose-Pink and her bear, as well as Snowy-Blue and the man from the forest.