There was once a King whose castle was surrounded by a forest full of
game. One day he sent a Huntsman out to shoot a deer, but he never
came back.
'Perhaps an accident has happened to him,' said the King.
Next day he sent out two more Huntsmen to look for him, but they did
not return either. On the third day he sent for all his Huntsmen, and
said to them, 'Search the whole forest without ceasing, until you have
found all three.'
But not a single man of all these, or one of the pack of hounds they
took with them, ever came back. From this time forth no one would
venture into the forest; so there it lay, wrapped in silence and
solitude, with only an occasional eagle or hawk circling over it.
This continued for several years, and then one day a strange Huntsman
sought an audience of the King, and offered to penetrate into the
dangerous wood. The King, however, would not give him permission, and
said, 'It's not safe, and I am afraid if you go in that you will never
come out again, any more than all the others.'
The Huntsman answered, 'Sire, I will take the risk upon myself. I do
not know fear.'
So the Huntsman went into the wood with his Dog. Before long the Dog
put up some game, and wanted to chase it; but hardly had he taken a
few steps when he came to a deep pool, and could go no further. A
naked arm appeared out of the water, seized him, and drew him down.
When the Huntsman saw this, he went back and fetched three men with
pails to empty the pool. When they got to the bottom they found a Wild
Man, whose body was as brown as rusty iron, and his hair hanging down
over his face to his knees. They bound him with cords, and carried
him away to the castle. There was great excitement over the Wild Man,
and the King had an iron cage made for him in the courtyard. He
forbade any one to open the door of the cage on pain of death, and the
Queen had to keep the key in her own charge.
After this, anybody could walk in the forest with safety.
The King had a little son eight years old, and one day he was playing
in the courtyard. In his play his golden ball fell into the cage. The
boy ran up, and said, 'Give me back my ball.'
'Not until you have opened the door,' said the Wild Man.
'No; I can't do that,' said the boy. 'My father has forbidden it,' and
then he ran away.
Next day he came again, and asked for his ball. The Man said, 'Open my
door'; but he would not.
On the third day the King went out hunting, and the boy came again,
and said, 'Even if I would, I could not open the door. I have not got
the key.'
Then the Wild Man said, 'It is lying under your mother's pillow. You
can easily get it.'
The boy, who was very anxious to have his ball back, threw his
scruples to the winds, and fetched the key. The door was very stiff,
and he pinched his fingers in opening it. As soon as it was open the
Wild Man came out, gave the boy his ball, and hurried away. The boy
was now very frightened, and cried out, 'O Wild Man, don't go away, or
I shall be beaten!'
The Wild Man turned back, picked up the boy, put him on his shoulder,
and walked hurriedly off into the wood.
When the King came home he saw at once the cage was empty, and asked
the Queen how it had come about. She knew nothing about it, and went
to look for the key, which was of course gone. They called the boy,
but there was no answer. The King sent people out into the fields to
look for him, but all in vain; he was gone. The King easily guessed
what had happened, and great grief fell on the royal household.
When the Wild Man got back into the depths of the dark forest he took
the boy down off his shoulder, and said, 'You will never see your
father and mother again; but I will keep you here with me, because you
had pity on me and set me free. If you do as you are told, you will be
well treated. I have treasures and gold enough and to spare, more than
anybody in the world.'
He made a bed of moss for the boy, on which he went to sleep. Next
morning the Man led him to a spring, and said, 'You see this golden
well is bright and clear as crystal? You must sit by it, and take care
that nothing falls into it, or it will be contaminated. I shall come
every evening to see if you have obeyed my orders.'
The boy sat down on the edge of the spring to watch it; sometimes he
would see a gold fish or a golden snake darting through it, and he
guarded it well, so that nothing should fall into it. One day as he
was sitting like this his finger pained him so much that involuntarily
he dipped it into the water. He drew it out very quickly, but saw that
it was gilded, and although he tried hard to clean it, it remained
golden. In the evening Iron Hans came back, looked at the boy, and
said, 'What has happened to the well to-day?'
'Nothing, nothing!' he answered, keeping his finger behind his back,
so that Iron Hans should not see it.
But he said, 'You have dipped your finger into the water. It does not
matter this time, but take care that nothing of the kind occurs
again.'
Early next morning the boy took his seat by the spring again to watch.
His finger still hurt very much, and he put his hand up above his
head; but, unfortunately, in so doing he brushed a hair into the well.
He quickly took it out, but it was already gilded. When Iron Hans came
in the evening, he knew very well what had happened.
'You have let a hair fall into the well,' he said. 'I will overlook it
once more, but if it happens for the third time, the well will be
polluted, and you can no longer stay with me.'
On the third day the boy again sat by the well; but he took good care
not to move a finger, however much it might hurt. The time seemed very
long to him as he looked at his face reflected in the water. As he
bent over further and further to look into his eyes, his long hair
fell over his shoulder right into the water. He started up at once,
but not before his whole head of hair had become golden, and glittered
like the sun. You may imagine how frightened the poor boy was. He took
his pocket-handkerchief and tied it over his head, so that Iron Hans
should not see it. But he knew all about it before he came, and at
once said, 'Take that handkerchief off your head,' and then all the
golden hair tumbled out. All the poor boy's excuses were no good. 'You
have not stood the test, and you can no longer stay here. You must go
out into the world, and there you will learn the meaning of poverty.
But as your heart is not bad, and as I wish you well, I will grant you
one thing. When you are in great need, go to the forest and cry "Iron
Hans," and I will come and help you. My power is great, greater than
you think, and I have gold and silver in abundance.'
So the King's son left the forest, and wandered over trodden and
untrodden paths till he reached a great city. He tried to get work,
but he could not find any; besides, he knew no trade by which to make
a living. At last he went to the castle and asked if they would employ
him. The courtiers did not know what use they could make of him, but
they were taken with his appearance, and said he might stay. At last
the Cook took him into his service, and said he might carry wood and
water for him, and sweep up the ashes.
One day, as there was no one else at hand, the Cook ordered him to
carry the food up to the royal table. As he did not want his golden
hair to be seen, he kept his cap on. Nothing of the sort had ever
happened in the presence of the King before, and he said, 'When you
come into the royal presence, you must take your cap off.'
'Alas, Sire,' he said, 'I cannot take it off, I have a bad wound on my
head.'
Then the King ordered the Cook to be called, and asked how he could
take such a boy into his service, and ordered him to be sent away at
once. But the Cook was sorry for him, and exchanged him with the
Gardener's boy.
Now the boy had to dig and hoe, plant and water, in every kind of
weather. One day in the summer, when he was working alone in the
garden, it was very hot, and he took off his cap for the fresh air to
cool his head. When the sun shone on his hair it glittered so that the
beams penetrated right into the Princess's bedroom, and she sprang up
to see what it was. She discovered the youth, and called to him,
'Bring me a nosegay, young man.'
He hurriedly put on his cap, picked a lot of wild flowers, and tied
them up. On his way up to the Princess, the Gardener met him, and
said, 'How can you take such poor flowers to the Princess? Quickly cut
another bouquet, and mind they are the choicest and rarest flowers.'
'Oh no,' said the youth. 'The wild flowers have a sweeter scent, and
will please her better.'
[Illustration: She immediately clutched at his cap to pull it off;
but he held it on with both hands.]
As soon as he went into the room the Princess said, 'Take off your
cap; it is not proper for you to wear it before me.'
He answered again, 'I may not take it off, because I have a wound on
my head.'
But she took hold of the cap, and pulled it off, and all his golden
hair tumbled over his shoulders in a shower. It was quite a sight. He
tried to get away, but she took hold of his arm, and gave him a
handful of ducats. He took them, but he cared nothing for the gold,
and gave it to the Gardener for his children to play with.
Next day the Princess again called him to bring her a bunch of wild
flowers, and when he brought it she immediately clutched at his cap to
pull it off; but he held it on with both hands. Again she gave him a
handful of ducats, but he would not keep them, and gave them to the
Gardener's children. The third day the same thing happened, but she
could not take off his cap, and he would not keep the gold.
Not long after this the kingdom was invaded. The King assembled his
warriors. He did not know whether they would be able to conquer his
enemies or not, as they were very powerful, and had a mighty army.
Then the Gardener's assistant said, 'I have been brought up to fight;
give me a horse, and I will go too.'
[Illustration: He called three times, 'Iron Hans,' as loud as he
could.]
The others laughed and said, 'When we are gone, find one for yourself.
We will leave one behind in the stable for you.'
When they were gone, he went and got the horse out; it was lame in one
leg, and hobbled along, humpety-hump, humpety-hump. Nevertheless, he
mounted it and rode away to the dark forest. When he came to the edge
of it, he called three times, 'Iron Hans,' as loud as he could, till
the trees resounded with it.