Prince in the Iron Furnace

A prince was cursed by a witch and trapped in a large iron furnace in the woods. He lived there for many years, and no one could save him. Later, the daughter of the king of a neighboring country came to the woods, got lost, and walked aimlessly for nine days and nights, and finally came to the iron furnace.

A voice came from the stove and asked, "Where did you come from and where are you going?"

"I lost my way and can't go home." The princess replied.

The voice inside the stove said, "If you agree to my request, I will soon let you find your way back. You are a princess, and I am a prince. My country is stronger than yours, and I want to marry you."

"How can a girl have anything to do with the stove?" The princess thought so, but in order to return to her father, she agreed to his request.

He said, "Come back here with a knife and make a hole in the stove."

He found someone to lead the way for the princess, and this person kept walking in front of the princess, without saying a word, and sent the princess home two hours later. Seeing the princess come back, the whole palace was immersed in joy, and the old king greeted it himself. But when she saw the king, the princess finally said aggrieved: "Dear father, please listen to me! I went to the woods, and if it wasn't for the help of an iron furnace, I would not be able to come back. I promised him that I would go back to rescue him and marry him!"

The king almost fainted when he heard this. It was his only daughter. He couldn't bear his daughter to suffer, so they negotiated that the miller's beautiful daughter should take her place.

They took her there, gave her a knife, and told her to cut open the iron stove. She rowed all day, but there was no trace on the stove. It was dawn, and a voice in the iron stove cried, "It seems to be dawn." She replied: "I think so, I seem to hear my father's mill turning."

"You are the miller's daughter! Get out of here and call the princess over."

So she went back and told the king that what was in the stove was not her, but the princess. The old king was frightened, and the princess cried.

There was a pig farmer's daughter who was prettier than the miller's daughter, and they gave her a piece of gold to find the iron stove in place of the princess. She was taken there, and she rowed for another twenty-four hours, and at dawn a voice in the stove cried: "It seems to be dawn." She replied: "I think so too, I think I heard my father blow his horn."

"You are the daughter of a pig farmer! Let the princess come. Tell her that if she doesn't come, the palace will be in ruins, and there will be no tiles left."

When the princess heard this, she cried, but to no avail, she had to keep her word.

After saying goodbye to her father, she stabbed the knife in her waist and went to the iron stove in the woods. As soon as she arrived, she began to row, and after two hours the iron stove finally gave in, and she drilled a small hole. Looking through the hole, she saw a handsome young man with gold and silver glittering on him. The princess fell in love with him at first sight, so she continued to scrape hard, and finally dug a big hole, and the prince came out. He said, "You belong to me, and my heart belongs to you. Now you have saved me, and you are my bride!" He wanted to take her to his country immediately, and the princess begged her to see her father again before leaving. The prince agreed, but asked her not to speak more than three words.

But my God! She said far more than three words. The iron furnace disappeared behind a glass mountain and three sharp swords in an instant, and although the prince was free and no longer had to be locked in the furnace, he was also on the other side of the mountain.

The princess said goodbye to her father, brought some silver taels, and went back to the woods to look for the iron furnace, but she searched for nine days and nine nights without finding it. When night came, she was a little afraid of wild animals, so she climbed up a small tree. At midnight, she saw a faint light, so she climbed down the tree and walked in the direction of the light. She came to a small shabby house full of weeds, and stood in front of a small pile of wood, thinking, "Oh, where have I been?" She peeked in through the crack of the window, and saw toads, big and small, and a table of rich wine and meat. She mustered up the courage to knock on the door.

A fat toad shouted:

"Little green toad with hook-like legs, open the door and see who is moving the door."

A little toad opened the door and let her in. They all welcomed her and asked her to sit down. Ask her how she got here and what she needs. She told them everything that happened, that she promised to say only three words, but then broke her promise, so the stove disappeared with the prince, and told them that she had been looking for a long time, even if she crossed thousands of mountains and rivers to find the prince.

The old toad said, "The little green toad crossed his legs, went to that corner, and brought me the big old box."

The little toad brought a big box. The toads served her delicious food and drink, and let her sleep on a beautiful bed of silk and satin, where she had a good night's sleep.

At dawn, the princess got up, and the old toad took out three things from the big box for her to take, because she was going over a high glass mountain, three broken swords, and a big lake, hoping that these things would be useful to her, and after these levels she would see her lover again. What did she get? She got three big needles, a pulley, and three nuts. With these things she set off, and when she reached the glass mountain, the ground was too slippery, she put three needles in the soles of her feet and proceeded to the other side of the mountain; before the three broken swords, she put on a pulley and glided past; finally she walked across the great lake and came to a beautiful castle. She knew that the prince who used to live in the iron furnace must be in this castle, so she pretended to be the kitchen maid and looked for a chance to meet the prince. The prince thought his wife had long since died and was about to marry another princess.

In the evening, when the princess was done grooming, she found the three nuts that the old toad had given her in her pocket. She peeled one, ready to eat the nuts. Look! There is a beautiful princess dress in the shell. When the bride heard about it, she wanted to buy it, saying that a maid like this should not wear it. The princess said that she could sell the dress as long as she was allowed to sleep by the prince's door. Because the bride really liked the beautiful dress, she agreed. In the evening, the bride said to the groom, "That stupid maid wants to sleep by your door."

"Since you agree, I have no objection." The prince said.

But the bride gave him a glass of wine with sleeping pills, and the prince was too fast to wake up. The maid cried all night and said, "I rescued you from the iron stove in the woods, I climbed the glass mountain to find you, crossed three sharp swords, and crossed a big lake, can you hear me?" The servant guarding outside the house heard her cry all night and told her master in the morning.

The next night, when the princess was done grooming, she knocked on the second nut, which contained a prettier dress. The bride saw it and wanted to buy it again. But the maid didn't want money, and she asked again to sleep by the prince's door. The bride gave the prince sleeping pills again, and he fell asleep again, and heard nothing. The maid cried all night and said, "I rescued you from the iron stove in the woods. I climbed the glass mountain to find you, crossed three sharp swords, and crossed a big lake. Do you hear me now?" The servant outside heard her cry all night, and told her master again in the morning.

On the third night, after the princess had combed and washed, she knocked on the third nut, this time a more beautiful dress of pure gold. The bride wanted to buy the dress again, and the maid asked to sleep at the prince's door again. This time the prince was careful not to swallow sleeping pills. The maid began to cry and said, "My dear, I rescued you from the iron stove in the forest..." He jumped up and replied, "Yes, you are mine, and my heart belongs only to you." Although it was late at night, the prince got into a carriage with her and left, taking the bride's clothes with him. When they came to the big lake, they rowed across, and they encountered three broken swords. They slid over on a pulley, and they stuck their needles in the glass mountain and climbed over the mountain. At last they came to the little shabby house, and as soon as the two entered the house, the hut immediately turned into a big castle. The toads also turned into beautiful young men, and the people ran around happily. It turned out that they too had been enchanted, waiting for the prince and princess to save them.

Later, they lived in this castle, which was much larger than the palace of the princess' father, and the old king did not want to live alone, and came to live with them. In this way, they owned two palaces and were extremely rich.