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Tale Summary

There were once two brothers, sons of a king, who set out into the world to seek their fortunes but fell upon debauchery. Their younger brother, who was a dwarf, went to seek them, but was only laughed at when he found them. Together the three brothers set out on a journey and came across an anthill, which the youngest prince defended against his elder brothers’ attacks on it. They then came to a lake where there were many ducks, which the youngest prince defended against his brothers’ cruelty. Next, they came upon a bees’ nest, which the eldest two brothers wanted to burn, but the youngest prince defended it. They all eventually came to a castle with horses made of marble in the stables, and inside they saw a little old man sitting at a table, who approached them after being called three times. He led them to eat, and then gave each a room to sleep in. The next morning they found three tablets instructing them how to disenchant the castle. The first one read:

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“In the wood, under the moss, lie the thousand pearls belonging to the king’s daughter; they must all be found: and if one be missing by set of sun, he who seeks them will be turned into marble”

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The eldest brother took up this challenge, but was turned to stone when he could not complete it. The next day, the second eldest prince tried, but he, too, was turned to stone. The little youngest prince set out, but the task was so hard that he sat down and cried. The king of the ants came with five thousand ants to help him, and he was able to collect all of the pearls. The second tablet said:

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“The key of the princess’s bedchamber must be fished up out of the lake”

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The youngest prince went to the water’s edge and was met by the ducks he had saved, who retrieved the key for him. The third tablet told of the hardest task, which was to choose out the best and youngest of the king’s three daughters. They all looked exactly alike, but the prince was told that the eldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the next some sweet syrup, and the youngest a spoonful of honey. The queen of the bees appeared and tried the lips of all three, and the youngest was easily discovered. The spell was then broken and the youngest prince married the youngest princess, and his brothers who had awoken from their marble forms married the other two.

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