“ So the prince went secretly and saw his wife, and told her how she could persuade True Steel to tell her where his strength was. He then left her and went away.
When True Steel came home, the wife of the king’s son asked him, “Tell me, now, where is your great strength?” He answered, “My wife, my strength is in my sword!” Then she began to pray, and turned to his sword. When True Steel saw that, he burst out laughing, and said, “O foolish woman! my strength is not in my sword, but in my bow and arrows!” ”

“ The king was so glad to have his daughter given back to him, as he thought, from the grave, that he declared that she should marry no one but the young nobleman whose wonderful ointment had cured her. ”

“ Now, it happened that the king stood at a window looking out, and noticed at once the beautiful greyhound which was chasing the hare, and the very handsome horse which a huntsman in a splendid dress was mounted on. The king was so pleased with the appearance of the horse and the greyhound, that he called instantly some of his servants, and, sending them after the strange rider, bade them invite him to come to the palace. The young man, however, hearing some people coming behind him calling and shouting, rode quickly behind a thick bush, and shook a little the halter and the iron chain. ”

“ Accordingly the poor young queen was thrown into a miserably dark dungeon under the palace, and kept on bread and water.
Now there was only a very small hole in this prison—hardly large enough to let in light and air—yet the old queen managed to cause a great many people to pass by this hole, and whoever passed was ordered to spit at and abuse the unhappy young queen, calling out to her, “Are you really the queen? Are you the girl who cheated the king in order to be a queen? Where are your golden-haired twins? You cheated the king and your friends, and now the witches have cheated you!” ”

“ In a moment the king became as white as snow, to the great rejoicings of all his people. But no one was so pleased as the king himself, so he said again, “Only ask! I will give you whatever you wish, even if it be my throne!” ”

“ The poor girl almost lost her senses when she saw before her a handsome man, beautifully dressed. But he came up to her and said, “Don’t be afraid, my dear! I am not a bad man, I am the son of the king, and when I wish to hunt I come here and use this bear-skin as a disguise lest the people should recognize me. Those who see me believe that I am a ghost, and run away from me. No one dares to come into this house, knowing that I often come here. You are the only person who has ventured in. ”

“ As some village girls were spinning whilst they tended the cattle grazing in the neighbourhood of a ravine, an old man with a long white beard—so long a beard that it reached to his girdle—approached them, and said, “Girls, girls, take care of that ravine. If one of you should drop her spindle down the cliff, her mother will be turned into a cow that very moment.” ”

“ In a very remote country there formerly lived a king who had only one child—an exceedingly beautiful daughter. The princess had a great number of suitors, and amongst them were three young noblemen, whom the king loved much. As, however, the king liked the three nobles equally well, he could not decide to which of the three he should give his daughter as a wife. One day, therefore, he called the three young noblemen to him, and said, “Go, all of you, and travel about the world. The one of you who brings home the most remarkable thing shall become my son-in-law!” ”

“ Again, as he crossed a mountain, he found a wolf fast in a trap; and when the wolf saw him it spoke: “Be a brother to me; in God’s name set me free, and one day I will help you. Only take a hair from me, and when you need me, rub it gently.” So he took a hair and set the wolf free. After that the king’s son travelled about a very long time, till one day he met a man, to whom he said, “For God’s sake, brother, have you ever heard anyone say where is the palace of the dragon king?” ”

“ So he took his sister by the hand and gave her over, saying, “Take her! may she be honest and bring you happiness!” Then the unseen noises departed with the girl. Next day, as soon as it dawned, all three brothers walked round the palace, and for some distance beyond, looking everywhere for some trace where the power had gone, but nothing could be seen or heard. ”

“ The young shepherd worked hard, smearing one black skin after the other, until he got quite weary and had become very rich, for they gave him a good deal of money, and there were a great many of them who wished to be made white.
Just as he had thus whitened the last of the black men about him, one of them said to him, “Wonder-working man! We have a king who, being our chief, is the blackest of us all; therefore, if you think you can make him white also, we are sure he will be very glad to get rid of his blackness, and will pay you more money than you ever dreamt of.” ”

“ But the black giant had learnt that his former apprentice was making a great deal of money by practising the trade he had taught him, and, being jealous at this, he determined to put an end to the young man’s gains.
Therefore, on the third day he came to the market himself as a buyer, and the moment he saw the beautiful cow with golden horns he knew that it could be no other than his former apprentice. So he came up to the old man, and, having outbid all the other would-be purchasers, paid at once the price he had agreed on. ”

“ So he took the halter and struck the earth with it, and immediately a handsome horse, beautifully caparisoned, stood before him. Then he struck the ground with the iron chain, and instantly a hare and a greyhound appeared, and the hare began to run quickly and the greyhound to follow her. In a moment the young man hardly knew himself, for he found himself in a fine hunting-dress, riding on the horse after the hare, which took a path that passed immediately under the windows of the king’s palace. ”

“ When the king had heard everything, he said, “Well, after all, I shall say nothing against it if my daughter will consent to it.” He then told his servants to lead the princess into his presence. When she came he told her all about the affair, and asked her, “Are you willing to marry the son of this old woman?”
The princess answered, “Why not? If only he learns first the trade that no one knows!” Thereupon the king bade his attendants give money to the poor woman, who now went back to her hut with a light heart. ”

“ When the second brother had tended the king’s goats a long time, he one day drove them up a high hill, and, finding there a very tall pine-tree, resolved at once to climb up to its top and look about to see what kind of a country lay on the other side of the hill. When he had looked round a while from the tree he noticed a great volume of smoke rising from a mountain afar off, and the thought came at once to his mind that his brothers might be there. ”

“ The king, overhearing this dispute, called the young noblemen to him, and said to them, “My lords, from what you have said, I see that I cannot, with justice, give my daughter to any of you; therefore, I pray you to give up altogether the idea of marrying her, and that you continue friends as you always were before you became rivals.”
The three young nobles saw that the king had decided justly; so they all left their native country, and went into a far-off desert to live like hermits. And the king gave the princess to another of his great nobles. ”

“ After the dragon had dined he mounted his horse, and in a few moments came up with the runaways. Then he took the queen from the king’s son and said to him, “Go now, in God’s name! This time I forgive you, because you gave me water in the cellar; but if your life is dear to you do not come back here any more.” The unhappy young prince went on his way a little, but could not long resist, so he came back next day to the dragon’s palace and found the queen sitting alone and weeping. ”