The Hind in the Wood

The White Doe or The Doe in the Woods is a French literary fairy tale written by Madame d'Aulnoy. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.

A crab (or lobster, in some translations) brought a childless queen to a fairy palace, where she was revealed as the fairy of the spring, and took the form of a little old lady. The fairies promised her that she would soon have a daughter, and told her to name her Desirée and summon them to the christening. When the princess was born, she did invite them, but not the crab, who arrived, indignant. The other fairies placated her, but the crab, not laying her full intended curse, nevertheless said that Desirée would be the worse for it, if any sunlight touched her in her first fifteen years.

At the advice of the other fairies, the king and queen built a subterranean castle for the princess to live in. When her fifteenth birthday approached, the queen had her portrait made and sent it to all the neighboring princes. One fell so in love with her that he often shut himself up with the portrait and talked to it. When the king, his father, learned this, the prince persuaded him to break a betrothal with the Black Princess and send an ambassador to Desirée. The fairy Tulip, who loved Desiree best, warned not to let the ambassador see her before the birthday. At his suit, however, they agreed to bring the portrait to the princess, who was much taken by it, and to hold the wedding in three months, after her birthday.

The prince was so love-sick that the king sent messages to implore them to put forward the wedding.

Meanwhile, the Black Princess was deeply offended. Though she declared that he had his freedom, because she could not love a dishonorable man, she implored the aid of her fairy godmother, the fairy of the spring, who was reminded of the injury and resolved to harm Desirée.

Hearing that the prince was dying for love of her, Desirée proposed that she travel by closed carriage, and open it for food only at night. When this was put into effect, the mother of a jealous lady-in-waiting, persuaded by her daughter, cut open the coach and let light on the princess. She instantly turned to a white doe and bounded off. The fairy of the spring created a thunderstorm that frightened off the servants, a faithful lady-in-waiting chased the doe, and the jealous one disguised herself as the princess and went on. She pleaded the thunderstorm for her condition, but her ugliness astounded the prince. He left the palace rather than endure such a marriage, and went to the forest with only the ambassador.

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Wikipedia