There was once a King who was so ill that it was thought impossible
his life could be saved. He had three sons, and they were all in great
distress on his account, and they went into the castle gardens and
wept at the thought that he must die. An old man came up to them and
asked the cause of their grief. They told him that their father was
dying, and nothing could save him. The old man said, 'There is only
one remedy which I know; it is the Water of Life. If he drinks of it,
he will recover, but it is very difficult to find.'
The eldest son said, 'I will soon find it'; and he went to the sick
man to ask permission to go in search of the Water of Life, as that
was the only thing to cure him.
'No,' said the King. 'The danger is too great. I would rather die.'
But he persisted so long that at last the King gave his permission.
The Prince thought, 'If I bring this water I shall be the favourite,
and I shall inherit the kingdom.'
So he set off, and when he had ridden some distance he came upon a
Dwarf standing in the road, who cried, 'Whither away so fast?'
'Stupid little fellow,' said the Prince, proudly; 'what business is it
of yours?' and rode on.
The little man was very angry, and made an evil vow.
Soon after, the Prince came to a gorge in the mountains, and the
further he rode the narrower it became, till he could go no further.
His horse could neither go forward nor turn round for him to dismount;
so there he sat, jammed in.
The sick King waited a long time for him, but he never came back.
Then the second son said, 'Father, let me go and find the Water of
Life,' thinking, 'if my brother is dead I shall have the kingdom.'
The King at first refused to let him go, but at last he gave his
consent. So the Prince started on the same road as his brother, and
met the same Dwarf, who stopped him and asked where he was going in
such a hurry.
'Little Snippet, what does it matter to you?' he said, and rode away
without looking back.
But the Dwarf cast a spell over him, and he, too, got into a narrow
gorge like his brother, where he could neither go backwards nor
forwards.
This is what happens to the haughty.
As the second son also stayed away, the youngest one offered to go and
fetch the Water of Life, and at last the King was obliged to let him
go.
When he met the Dwarf, and he asked him where he was hurrying to, he
stopped and said, 'I am searching for the Water of Life, because my
father is dying.'
'Do you know where it is to be found?'
'No,' said the Prince.
'As you have spoken pleasantly to me, and not been haughty like your
false brothers, I will help you and tell you how to find the Water of
Life. It flows from a fountain in the courtyard of an enchanted
castle; but you will never get in unless I give you an iron rod and
two loaves of bread. With the rod strike three times on the iron gate
of the castle, and it will spring open. Inside you will find two Lions
with wide-open jaws, but if you throw a loaf to each they will be
quiet. Then you must make haste to fetch the Water of Life before it
strikes twelve, or the gates of the castle will close and you will be
shut in.'
The Prince thanked him, took the rod and the loaves, and set off. When
he reached the castle all was just as the Dwarf had said. At the third
knock the gate flew open, and when he had pacified the Lions with the
loaves, he walked into the castle. In the great hall he found several
enchanted Princes, and he took the rings from their fingers. He also
took a sword and a loaf, which were lying by them. On passing into the
next room he found a beautiful Maiden, who rejoiced at his coming. She
embraced him, and said that he had saved her, and should have the
whole of her kingdom; and if he would come back in a year she would
marry him. She also told him where to find the fountain with the
enchanted water; but, she said, he must make haste to get out of the
castle before the clock struck twelve.
Then he went on, and came to a room where there was a beautiful bed
freshly made, and as he was very tired he thought he would take a
little rest; so he lay down and fell asleep. When he woke it was
striking a quarter to twelve. He sprang up in a fright, and ran to the
fountain, and took some of the water in a cup which was lying near,
and then hurried away. The clock struck just as he reached the iron
gate, and it banged so quickly that it took off a bit of his heel.
He was rejoiced at having got some of the Water of Life, and hastened
on his homeward journey. He again passed the Dwarf, who said, when he
saw the sword and the loaf, 'Those things will be of much service to
you. You will be able to strike down whole armies with the sword, and
the loaf will never come to an end.'
The Prince did not want to go home without his brothers, and he said,
'Good Dwarf, can you not tell me where my brothers are? They went in
search of the Water of Life before I did, but they never came back.'
'They are both stuck fast in a narrow mountain gorge. I cast a spell
over them because of their pride.'
Then the Prince begged so hard that they might be released that at
last the Dwarf yielded; but he warned him against them, and said,
'Beware of them; they have bad hearts.'
[Illustration: {Good Dwarf, can you not tell me where my brothers
are?}]
He was delighted to see his brothers when they came back, and told
them all that had happened to him; how he had found the Water of
Life, and brought a goblet full with him. How he had released a
beautiful Princess, who would wait a year for him and then marry him,
and he would become a great Prince.
Then they rode away together, and came to a land where famine and war
were raging. The King thought he would be utterly ruined, so great was
the destitution.
The Prince went to him and gave him the loaf, and with it he fed and
satisfied his whole kingdom. The Prince also gave him his sword, and
he smote the whole army of his enemies with it, and then he was able
to live in peace and quiet. Then the Prince took back his sword and
his loaf, and the three brothers rode on. But they had to pass through
two more countries where war and famine were raging, and each time the
Prince gave his sword and his loaf to the King, and in this way he
saved three kingdoms.
After that they took a ship and crossed the sea. During the passage
the two elder brothers said to each other, 'Our youngest brother found
the Water of Life, and we did not, so our father will give him the
kingdom which we ought to have, and he will take away our fortune from
us.'
This thought made them very vindictive, and they made up their minds
to get rid of him. They waited till he was asleep, and then they
emptied the Water of Life from his goblet and took it themselves, and
filled up his cup with salt sea water.
As soon as they got home the youngest Prince took his goblet to the
King, so that he might drink of the water which was to make him well;
but after drinking only a few drops of the sea water he became more
ill than ever. As he was bewailing himself, his two elder sons came to
him and accused the youngest of trying to poison him, and said that
they had the real Water of Life, and gave him some. No sooner had he
drunk it than he felt better, and he soon became as strong and well as
he had been in his youth.
Then the two went to their youngest brother, and mocked him, saying,
'It was you who found the Water of Life; you had all the trouble,
while we have the reward. You should have been wiser, and kept your
eyes open; we stole it from you while you were asleep on the ship.
When the end of the year comes, one of us will go and bring away the
beautiful Princess. But don't dare to betray us. Our father will
certainly not believe you, and if you say a single word you will lose
your life; your only chance is to keep silence.'
The old King was very angry with his youngest son, thinking that he
had tried to take his life. So he had the Court assembled to give
judgment upon him, and it was decided that he must be secretly got out
of the way.
One day when the Prince was going out hunting, thinking no evil, the
King's Huntsman was ordered to go with him. Seeing the Huntsman look
sad, the Prince said to him, 'My good Huntsman, what is the matter
with you?'