Riddles

Once upon a time there was a prince who traveled the world on a whim with only one faithful servant by his side.

One day, he came to a large forest. When it was dark, he could not find a place to stay and did not know where to spend the night. At this time, he saw a beautiful girl walking towards a hut, so he ran up to greet her and said, "Good girl, can my servant and I spend the night in this hut?"

The girl said, "Yes, yes, but I advise you not to go in. My stepmother knows witchcraft, and she has bad intentions for strangers." Only then did the prince realize that he had come to the witch's house, but it was already dark, and he was very brave, so he entered the house.

The old witch sat in an armchair by the stove, looking with red eyes at the strangers who came in. She tried her best to look friendly and said, "Good evening, sit down and rest your feet." She fanned the fire a little, and there was a small pot cooking on the stove. The girl warned the two guests to be careful not to eat or drink anything, because the old witch made magic soup.

They slept quietly until dawn, and then they were ready to go on their way. The prince was already on horseback, but the old witch said, "Wait a minute, I still want to treat you to a glass of farewell wine." When she went back to get the wine, the prince quickly rode away. So when the evil old witch came back with the wine, only the prince's servant was still there, saddling the horse.

"Take this glass of wine to your master," she said. The servant pretended to be careless and broke the glass, splashed the poisoned wine on the horse, and immediately poisoned the horse. The servant quickly caught up with the prince and told him what had happened. But he was reluctant to bear the saddle, so he ran back to get it. But when he ran to the dead horse, he saw a bird and crow squatting on the horse, eating the horse's meat in large mouths.

The servant killed the bird and took it away. They continued to walk in the forest all day, but they couldn't get out. When it was dark, they saw an inn and went in. The servant gave the crow to the innkeeper and let him cook it for dinner. However, they came to a black shop, and they planned to kill the two strangers and rob them of their money. But before they could do it, they sat down together to eat soup stewed with crow meat, but after a few sips of the soup, they all fell to the ground and died, because the crow passed the poison on the dead horse to them.

There was now only the innkeeper's daughter left in the inn, an honest girl who did not take part in those sinful deeds. She opened all the doors for the two strangers to see the gold and silver treasures stored inside. But the prince said that those things belonged to her now, and he wanted nothing for himself, and he went on his way with his servant.

They walked for a long time again, and came to a city where a very beautiful but very proud princess lived. She told the whole world that if anyone could come up with a riddle that she could not guess, she would marry anyone, but if she could guess it, the person would be beheaded. She had three days to think, but she was so smart that she could always guess it before the allotted time. Before the prince arrived, nine people had already lost their lives in this way. But the prince was fascinated by her beauty and was willing to gamble with his own life.

He went to the princess and gave her a riddle: "What killed twelve people without killing anyone?" She didn't know what it was, and she couldn't guess it after thinking about it. She searched all kinds of riddle books, but there was nothing in them. Not knowing what to do, she sent her maid into the prince's room to eavesdrop on what he was saying in his dreams, thinking that he might leak the answer when he was talking in his sleep.

But the prince's wise servant slept in his master's bed, and as soon as the maid slipped in he ripped off her cloak and drove her out with a whip. The next night, the princess sent her maid to try her luck again to see if she could find out, but the prince's servant also drove her out with a whip.

On the third day, the prince felt sure and went back to his room. This time the princess herself came. She put on a foggy grey cloak and sat beside the prince. She thought the prince was asleep, so she spoke to him, hoping that he would tell the mystery in a dream like many people do. But the prince did not fall asleep, and he was very clear in his heart, listening to her every move. She asked: "What doesn't kill anyone?" He replied: "A crow that ate poison and then poisoned itself." She asked again: "Then what killed twelve people?" He replied, "Twelve murderers who ate birds and crows are also dead."

When the princess learned the answer to the riddle, she wanted to sneak away, but the prince held on to her cloak so tightly that she had to keep it. The next morning, the princess announced that she had guessed the riddle, and sent for twelve judges to tell the riddle in front of them. However, the prince asked everyone to listen to him, and he said, "She sneaked into my room at night and asked me the answer, otherwise she would not have known the answer."

The judges asked, "Show me the evidence." The prince's servant brought three cloaks. The judges saw that the foggy cloak was exactly what the princess often wore, and they said in unison: "Embroider this cloak with gold and silver thread, and it will be your wedding dress."

Then, the princess and Wang Yu got married like this.