Song of the african princesses

On the shore of a long river
the ladies cry,
because the king of that land / is dying of nostalgia.
The king had three daughters,
as clear as water,
as beautiful as a clear day
just when the sun comes up.
One day, at midnight,
the evil fairy,
nobody knows how it was
that she entered the chamber,
and turned the princesses,
as beautiful as mother-of-pearl,
into three poisonous snakes
of ugly appearance.
The whole court cried,
day after day,
and the king promised jewels
of gold and silver
to whoever broke the spell
of that fairy
and would return his daughters
to their human form.
Wise men came from afar,
all of them looked at them...
None of them knew how to break the spell.
The witch had said it
in the early morning:
There is only one remedy,
which is to love them.
Three young men must come
alone or in a group
and kiss them lovingly
on the forehead.