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Tale Summary

There was once a rich merchant with three sons, and one day the eldest requested that he be able to take leave and see the world. He sailed to a large town, where he saw a notice saying that if any man could find the king’s daughter within eight days could have her as his wife, but if he failed, he would lose his life. The young man took on this task, but after eight days he could not find her and so he was killed. After not hearing from him for a long time, the second eldest brother set out to find him, and arrived at the same town and saw the same notice, and came to the same fate. The youngest brother then set out, and when he saw the notice, deduced what had happened to his brothers, and decided to try his luck as well. On the way to the castle, an old beggar woman approached him, and promised to help him in exchange for gold. He agreed, and she told him to have a goldsmith make him a golden lion with crystal eyes and the ability to play tunes, and to bring it to her when it was ready. He did this, and the woman hid him inside the lion and brought it to the king, who greatly desired to buy it from her. She said that she could not sell it, but agreed to leave it with him for a day so that it could amuse his daughter. The king lifted some loose floorboards, went down a staircase, and through seven doors which the merchant’s son kept track of. The king entered a lovely hall where the princess played with eleven friends, all of whom looked exactly like her in appearance and dress. After amusing themselves with the lion all day, the girls went to sleep, and the princess took it with her to her room. The young man climbed out and revealed himself to her and begged for her help, as she told him that he would have to pick her out of all twelve girls. She promised to tie a white sash around her waist on the eighth day so he would recognize her. The next morning, the woman retrieved the lion and the young man returned to the castle to try his hand at finding the princess. For seven days he pretended to be busy searching for her, but on the eighth day he requested that the floorboards be taken up. After protest, the king did this, and at every door the young man requested the key, until they came to the hall where the twelve maidens were. The young man noticed one of them silently tying a white sash around her waist and picked her out of the bunch. The two were married, and after another eight days sailed back to the youth’s own country, bringing with them a shipload of treasures and the princess’s dowry, and made sure to compensate the old beggar woman who had helped them.

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