A couple had a young son called Hans.
When he was sixteen Hans decided to go around the world and make a living for himself.
As Hans was traveling, he met an old man. Instead of giving way to the old man, Hans walked along with the man on the narrow path and they both bumped on each other.
The old man mildly looked at Hans. "A boy can give way to an older man."
Hans shrugged. "The road was built for me as well."
The old man studied hands keenly. "Where are you going?"
"I am going to earn my livelihood."
The old man nodded at Hans "In that case you might as well work for me."
Hans looked questioningly at the old man. "What work would I have to do for you?"
An old man nodded again. “You will have to keep the rooms of my castle clean and I will pay you handsomely for that.”
Hans agreed and went with the old man.
They soon reached a huge castle and the old man pointed at a bed and the table in a room which had a huge cupboard with a rich wardrobe. “Food will appear here at the appropriate time and You can lay on the bed and go to sleep when you are tired. You can wear all the rich clothes which are available in this wardrobe in the room. You will have to keep all the rooms in the castle clean all the time. I cannot be in the castle and I have to travel a lot. I am not sure when I will be back.
However the old man pointed at one locked door in the castle. “This door however should not be opened under any circumstances otherwise ill may befall you.”
For some days Hans kept the entire castle and all the rooms clean.
The food automatically appeared on the table and he could sleep on the bed comfortably.
A few days later he realized that the old man whom he had seen on the first day had not come back at all.
Soon Hans did not clean the other rooms and kept only his room clean.
Over time he stopped with that too.
Over time curiosity overcame him and he opened the key of the locked room which was lying on the lock itself.
The door opened easily and hands looked around and he found a book of magic in it.
Hans took the book and ran away from the castle.
Hans went back to his parents.
However Hans’ father could not believe that Hans had such rich clothes to wear in such a small time.
Han's father was sure that Hans had stolen money from some place.
So Han's father wanted Hans to leave the place.
But Hans wanted to help his parents. “Tomorrow you will find a strong dog outside the house. Lead the dog with the strap around its neck to the palace of the duke. Sell the dog to the duke for a handsome price but you must bring back the strap with which you led the dog.”
The father did not know what to think and he agreed to do as he was asked.
The very next day the father was surprised to find a handsome dog outside the house.
The father took the dog to the palace of the Duke.
The duke offered a generous price for the dog and the father did not forget his promise to Hans and he brought back the strap with which he had led the dog.
Hans came back to his parent's house again and this time he had a different set of instructions. He wanted his father to sell a huge cow which would be found outside his house. This time too Hans wanted his father to bring back the halter with which he would lead the cow to the king's place where he wanted the father to sell the cow. One additional condition that Hans asked of his father was to go to the king's palace through the high road but return through the forests after selling the cow to the king.
This time Han's father dragged the huge animal to the king's court. Everybody in the court was astonished to see the huge animal.
The king paid a generous price for the cow.
Immediately on getting the gold coins for the animal Han's father remembered both the things that his son had told him and the father brought back the halter with which he had taken the cow to the king's court and he walked back to his home through the forests.
What no one realized was that as soon as the cow was taken to the king’s place, the cow changed into a dove and flew away from the place.
The king had his men search everywhere and finally when he realized that the cow was missing he sent his guards to look for the man who had sold him the cow.
The guards of the king looked everywhere but they could not find the man who had sold him the cow because the man was in the forests instead of the high road.
After his parents were very rich now, the third time Hans again came to his father and gave him a new set of instructions. “Tomorrow you will find a handsome horse outside the house. Take it to the market and you can send it for a very high price but remember to loosen the bridle as soon as you sell the animal.”
The same too the father did what Hans asked him to do, but this time the father did not remember to loosen the bridle of the horse after selling the horse.
Adapted from Danish folktales
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