Iron John

Once upon a time, there was a king who had a huge forest near his castle, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent a huntsman to shoot a deer, but the huntsman never came back. “Maybe something bad happened to him,” said the king.

The next day he sent two more huntsmen to look for him, but they also disappeared. On the third day, he called all his huntsmen and said, “Search the whole forest and don’t stop until you find all three.” But none of them came home again, and the dogs they took with them were never seen either.

From then on, no one dared to go into the forest anymore. It lay there silent and empty, with only an eagle or a hawk flying over it now and then. This went on for many years, until a strange huntsman came to the king and asked for a job.

He offered to go into the dangerous forest. But the king said, “It is not safe there. I am afraid you will never come out again, just like the others.” The huntsman replied, “My lord, I will try anyway. I am not afraid.”

So the huntsman went into the forest with his dog. Soon the dog found some game and wanted to chase it. But when the dog had run just two steps, it stopped in front of a deep pool.

A naked arm reached out of the water, grabbed the dog, and pulled it under. When the huntsman saw this, he went back and got three men with buckets to bail out the water. When they could see the bottom, they found a wild man lying there.

His body was brown like rusty iron, and his hair hung over his face all the way down to his knees. They tied him up with ropes and led him to the castle. Everyone was amazed at the wild man.

The king had him put in an iron cage in the courtyard and ordered that no one should open the door, on pain of death. The queen herself kept the key. From then on, everyone could go into the forest safely again.

The king had an eight-year-old son. One day the boy was playing in the courtyard, and his golden ball fell into the cage. He ran to the cage and said, “Give me my ball back!” The wild man answered, “Not until you open the door for me.” “No,” said the boy, “I can’t do that.

The king has forbidden it,” and he ran away. The next day, he came again and asked for his ball. The wild man said, “Open my door.” But the boy refused. On the third day, the king had gone hunting.

The boy went to the cage and said, “I can’t open the door even if I wanted to, because I don’t have the key.” Then the wild man said, “The key is under your mother’s pillow.

You can get it there.” The boy wanted his ball back so badly that he forgot everything else and brought the key. The door was hard to open, and the boy pinched his fingers. When it was open, the wild man stepped out, gave him the golden ball, and hurried away.

The boy was scared and cried after him, “Oh, wild man, don’t go away, or I’ll be punished!” The wild man turned back, picked up the boy, put him on his shoulder, and ran quickly into the forest.

When the king came home, he saw the empty cage and asked the queen what had happened. She didn’t know, and when she looked for the key, it was gone. She called for the boy, but no one answered. The king sent people to search the fields, but they couldn’t find him.

Then he knew what had happened, and there was great sadness in the royal court.

When the wild man reached the dark forest, he put the boy down and said, “You will never see your father and mother again, but I will keep you with me because you freed me, and I feel sorry for you. If you do everything I say, you will be fine.

I have plenty of treasure and gold—more than anyone in the world.” He made a bed of moss for the boy, and the next morning he took him to a well and said, “This is the golden well. It is as bright and clear as crystal.

You must sit here and make sure nothing falls into it, or it will become dirty. I will come every evening to see if you have obeyed.” The boy sat by the well and often saw a golden fish or a golden snake appear in it, and he was careful that nothing fell in.

But while he was sitting there, his finger hurt so much that he accidentally dipped it into the water. He quickly pulled it out, but it had turned completely gold. No matter how hard he tried to wash it off, it stayed gold.

In the evening, Iron John came back, looked at the boy, and said, “What happened to the well?” The boy answered, “Nothing, nothing,” and hid his finger behind his back. But Iron John said, “You dipped your finger into the water.

This time I will let it pass, but be careful not to let anything fall in again.” Early the next morning, the boy was already sitting by the well. His finger hurt again, and he rubbed it over his head. Unfortunately, a hair fell into the well.

He quickly picked it up, but it had turned golden. Iron John came and knew what had happened. “You let a hair fall into the well,” he said. “I will let you watch one more time, but if this happens a third time, the well will be dirty, and you can’t stay with me anymore.”

On the third day, the boy sat by the well and did not move his finger, no matter how much it hurt. But the time felt long, and he looked at his reflection in the water.

As he leaned down to look into his own eyes, his long hair fell from his shoulders into the water. He quickly straightened up, but all his hair had turned golden and shone like the sun. Imagine how frightened the poor boy was!

He took his handkerchief and tied it around his head so that the man wouldn’t see. When Iron John came, he already knew everything and said, “Take off the handkerchief.” Then the golden hair poured out. No matter how the boy tried to make excuses, it didn’t help.

“You did not pass the test,” said Iron John. “You can’t stay here any longer. Go out into the world and learn what poverty is. But because you have a good heart and I mean well by you, I will grant you one thing: if you ever need help, come to the forest and call out ‘Iron John!’ Then I will come and help you.

My power is great—greater than you think—and I have plenty of gold and silver.”

Then the king’s son left the forest and walked along paths both beaten and unbeaten until he came to a big city. He looked for work but couldn’t find any, and he had no skills to help himself. Finally he went to the palace and asked if they would take him in.

The court people didn’t know what to do with him, but they liked him and let him stay. Then the cook hired him to carry wood and water and rake the cinders. One day, when no one else was around, the cook ordered him to bring food to the royal table.

But the boy didn’t want anyone to see his golden hair, so he kept his little cap on. The king had never seen such a thing and said, “When you come to the royal table, you must take off your hat.” The boy answered, “Oh, my lord, I can’t.

I have a sore on my head.” The king called the cook and scolded him for hiring such a boy and ordered him to fire him at once. But the cook felt sorry for him and gave him a job as the gardener’s boy.

Now the boy had to plant and water the garden, hoe and dig, and endure wind and bad weather. One summer day, while he was working alone in the garden, it was so warm that he took off his cap to cool his head.

The sun shone on his hair, and it glittered so brightly that the light fell into the princess’s bedroom. She jumped up to see what it was. When she saw the boy, she called out, “Boy, bring me a wreath of flowers.” He quickly put his cap back on and gathered wild field flowers and made a wreath.

As he was going up the stairs, the gardener met him and said, “How can you take such common flowers to the princess? Go and find the prettiest and rarest ones!” “Oh no,” said the boy, “the wild flowers smell sweeter and will please her more.” When he entered the room, the princess said, “Take off your cap.

It is not polite to keep it on in my presence.” He replied, “I can’t, I have a sore head.” But she snatched his cap off, and his golden hair fell down to his shoulders. It was beautiful to see.

He wanted to run away, but she held his arm and gave him a handful of gold coins. He left but didn’t care about the money. He gave the coins to the gardener’s children and said, “Here, you can play with them.” The next day, the princess called him again for a wreath.

When he brought it, she grabbed at his cap, but he held it tight with both hands. She gave him another handful of coins, but he gave them to the children again. On the third day, the same thing happened. She couldn’t take his cap off, and he wouldn’t keep her money.

Not long after, war broke out. The king gathered his men, but he didn’t know if he could defeat the enemy, who had a huge army. The gardener’s boy said, “I am old enough to go to war.

Just give me a horse.” The others laughed and said, “Find one yourself when we are gone. We’ll leave one behind in the stable for you.” After they left, he went into the stable and got the horse. It was lame on one foot and limped along.

Still, he mounted it and rode to the dark forest. At the edge, he called out three times, “Iron John!” as loud as he could. The wild man appeared at once and said, “What do you want?” “I need a strong horse because I’m going to war.” “You shall have that and more,” said Iron John.

Then he went back into the forest, and soon a stable boy came out leading a horse that snorted and could barely be held back. Behind them came a troop of soldiers dressed in iron, their swords flashing in the sun.

The youth gave his three-legged horse to the stable boy, mounted the strong horse, and rode at the head of the soldiers. When he reached the battlefield, many of the king’s men had already fallen, and the rest were about to give up.

But the youth galloped in with his iron soldiers, swept through the enemy like a storm, and beat down everyone who opposed him. The enemy fled, and the youth chased them until not one was left.

Instead of returning to the king, he led his troop back to the forest and called Iron John. “What do you want?” asked the wild man. “Take back your horse and your soldiers, and give me my three-legged horse again.” It was done, and soon he was riding on his limping horse.

When the king returned to his palace, his daughter came to greet him and congratulate him on the victory. “I am not the one who won,” said the king. “A strange knight came with his soldiers and helped me.” The daughter wanted to know who he was, but the king didn’t know.

“He chased the enemy, and I didn’t see him again,” he said. The princess asked the gardener about his boy. The gardener smiled and said, “He just came home on his three-legged horse. The others mocked him and shouted, ‘Here comes our limping one!’ They asked him where he had been sleeping, but he said, ‘I did the best of all, and things would have gone badly without me.’ And they laughed at him even more.”

The king told his daughter, “I will announce a great feast that will last three days. You will throw a golden apple. Maybe the unknown knight will come.” When the feast was announced, the youth went to the forest and called Iron John. “What do you want?” asked Iron John.

“I want to catch the princess’s golden apple.” “It is as good as in your hand,” said Iron John. “You will have a suit of red armor and ride a spirited chestnut horse.” On the day of the feast, the youth galloped to the square, took his place among the knights, and no one recognized him.

The princess came forward and threw the golden apple. Only the youth caught it, and as soon as he had it, he galloped away.

On the second day, Iron John gave him white armor and a white horse. Again, he was the only one who caught the apple, and he rode away at once. The king was angry and said, “This is not allowed. He must come before me and tell his name.” He ordered his men to chase the knight if he tried to leave and to cut him down if he didn’t return willingly.

On the third day, Iron John gave him black armor and a black horse. The youth caught the apple again. But as he rode off, the king’s men chased him. One of them came so close that he wounded the youth’s leg with his sword. The youth escaped, but his horse jumped so high that the helmet fell off his head, and the men saw his golden hair. They went back and told the king.

The next day, the princess asked the gardener about his boy. “He is working in the garden,” said the gardener. “The strange creature went to the feast too, and came home only yesterday evening. He also showed my children three golden apples that he won.”

The king ordered the boy to come before him. He came, still wearing his little cap. The princess went up to him and took off his cap. His golden hair fell down over his shoulders, and he was so handsome that everyone was amazed.

“Are you the knight who came to the feast each day in different colors and caught the three golden apples?” asked the king. “Yes,” answered the boy, “and here are the apples.” He took them out of his pocket and gave them back to the king.

“If you want more proof, look at the wound your men gave me when they chased me. And I am also the knight who helped you win the battle.” “If you can do such things, you are not a gardener’s boy,” said the king.

“Tell me, who is your father?” “My father is a mighty king, and I have as much gold as I need.” “I see that I owe you thanks,” said the king. “Can I do something for you?” “Yes,” said the youth.

“Give me your daughter as my wife.” The princess laughed and said, “He doesn’t beat around the bush, but I knew from his golden hair that he was no gardener’s boy.” Then she went and kissed him.

His father and mother came to the wedding, and they were overjoyed, because they had given up all hope of ever seeing their dear son again. As they sat at the wedding feast, the music suddenly stopped. The doors opened, and a majestic king entered with a grand retinue.

He went up to the youth, embraced him, and said, “I am Iron John. I was under a spell and had become a wild man, but you have set me free. All the treasures I own shall be yours.”