The Crystal Ball

Once upon a time there was a sorceress who had three sons. The brothers loved each other dearly, but the old woman did not trust them. She thought they wanted to steal her magic. So she turned the eldest into an eagle.

He had to live in the rocky mountains and was often seen soaring in wide circles in the sky. The second she turned into a whale. He lived in the deep sea, and the only sign of him was a huge jet of water he sometimes blew into the air.

Each of them could only be human for two hours each day. The third son was afraid she might turn him into a wild beast – a bear, maybe, or a wolf – so he ran away secretly.

He had heard that a king's daughter lay under a spell, locked in the Castle of the Golden Sun, waiting to be freed. But those who tried to free her risked their lives. Twenty-three young men had already died a miserable death, and only one more was allowed to try.

Then no more could come. His heart was fearless, so he decided to seek out the Castle of the Golden Sun. He traveled for a long time but could not find it. Then by chance he came to a huge forest and lost his way.

Suddenly he saw two giants in the distance. They waved at him, and when he came closer they said, "We are arguing about a cap. We both want it, but we are equally strong, so neither can win.

Little men are cleverer than we are, so we want you to decide." "How can you argue about an old cap?" said the youth. "You don't know what it can do! It's a wishing-cap. Whoever puts it on can wish himself anywhere, and he'll be there in an instant." "Give me the cap," said the youth.

"I'll go a little way off. When I call you, you must race to me. The one who gets here first gets the cap." He put on the cap and walked away. He thought of the king's daughter and forgot the giants. He walked on and on.

Finally he sighed from the bottom of his heart and cried, "Oh, if only I were at the Castle of the Golden Sun!" And before he could say another word, he stood on a high mountain before the castle gate.

He went inside and walked through all the rooms until he reached the last one. There he found the king's daughter. But he was shocked when he saw her. Her face was ashen gray and full of wrinkles, her eyes were bleary, and her hair was red.

"Are you the king's daughter whose beauty the whole world praises?" he cried. "Ah," she answered, "this is not my true form. Human eyes can only see me in this ugliness. But to show you what I really look like, look in this mirror.

It cannot be fooled; it will show you my true image." She handed him the mirror. In it he saw the most beautiful maiden on earth. He also saw tears rolling down her cheeks with grief. Then he said, "How can you be freed?

I fear no danger." She said, "Whoever gets the crystal ball and holds it before the enchanter will destroy his power, and I shall get my true shape back. Ah," she added, "so many have already died trying for it, and you are so young.

I grieve that you should face such great danger." "Nothing will stop me," said he. "Tell me what I must do." "You shall know everything," said the king's daughter. "When you go down from this mountain, you will find a wild bull by a spring. You must fight it.

If you are lucky enough to kill it, a fiery bird will spring out of its body. The bird carries a burning egg inside it. The crystal ball lies in that egg like a yolk. But the bird will not drop the egg until it is forced to.

And if the egg falls to the ground, it will burst into flames and burn everything nearby. Even ice would melt, and the crystal ball with it. Then all your trouble will have been for nothing."

The youth went down to the spring. There the bull snorted and bellowed at him. After a long fight he thrust his sword into the animal's body, and it fell to the ground. At once a fiery bird rose from the bull and tried to fly away.

But the youth's brother, the eagle, came swooping down from the clouds. He chased the bird out to sea and struck it with his beak until finally the bird let the egg fall. The egg did not fall into the sea, however. It landed on a fisherman's hut on the shore.

The hut began to smoke and was about to burst into flames. Then huge waves rose up in the sea and washed over the hut, putting out the fire. The other brother, the whale, had come swimming and had driven the water high into the air.

When the fire was out, the youth searched for the egg and happily found it. It was not melted, but the shell had cracked from the sudden cooling. He could take out the crystal ball unharmed.

When the youth went to the enchanter and held the ball before him, the enchanter said, "My power is destroyed. From now on you are the king of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this ball you can also give your brothers back their human forms." Then the youth hurried to the king's daughter. When he entered the room, she stood there in all her beauty. Joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.