The Prince and the Horse - Part One

Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons. 

One day, the three princes went hunting to a forest which was further away from their father's palace. 

The youngest prince lost his way and found himself far away from his brothers. 

The other two brothers tried looking for the youngest Prince but they could not find him. 

Finally the two elder brothers returned to the palace without the youngest prince. 

The third prince wandered through the forest sleeping on the forest floor and living on roots and wild berries of the forest. 

In the middle of the forest the Prince was surprised when he found a huge palace. 

But there was no trace of human life anywhere around the palace. 

The Prince wandered through the rooms and still didn't see anyone. 

Finally the Prince came to the great hall and he was surprised to see the table filled with excellent dishes and the choicest wines. 

The Prince satisfied his hunger and thirst and he was shocked because after that the table disappeared. 

The Prince was determined to find the reason for this strange happening and he continued his search all through the rooms of the castle. 

That was when he saw an old man coming up from the stairs. “What are you doing in my castle?” The old man looked questioningly at the Prince. 

The Prince looked around. “I lost my way in the forest and I found your castle.” 

The Prince looked at the old man and eagerly nodded his head. “If you take me into service I would like to stay here with you and serve you faithfully.” 

The old man was very happy at getting a servant and took the prince to work immediately. 

The old man gave three chores to the prince to be done daily. The stove had to always be lit and for that the Prince had to fetch wood from the forest and the Prince was also to have charge of a black horse in the stables. 

For all this the old man agreed to pay a florin a day and meals at the time that the Prince needed it and the fact that the table would always fill itself with food and wine as the prince needed. 

The Prince was very happy with the offer and he entered the old man's service.

Unknown to the Prince, the old lady was actually a magician. 

Further what the Prince did not know was that the flame of the stove was very important to the magician because the flame of this stove was the magician's power. 

If the stove went out then the magician would lose a great part of his power.

Adapted from Greek fairy tales