The next morning, the king had the golden lion taken back to the main palace.
True to her word, the old woman came and took the golden lion away with her.
The third son of the merchant came out of the golden lion and thanked the woman. From there, he went to the king and told the king that he wished to enter the competition to find the princess.
The third son remained at the castle and ate the food there. At times he would pretend to look around the castle for the princess. On the eighth day, he went to the king’s room and asked to remove the floor board there.
The king was shocked but he did what he was told. The other courtiers were watching and the king could not refuse in front of them.
From there, the third son traced the same path that the king had taken before.
The third son then walked through the staircase, the seven doors and unlocked it and found the twelve beautiful girls there.
The king behind was shocked.
But now the king was sure that this man could not identify the princess among the twelve beautiful girls.
The man easily brought the girl with the sash around her wrist.
Thus the merchant’s third son won the competition and he took the princess back to his own kingdom on a ship with plenty of riches.
The third son did not forget the old woman who had made all this possible and he made sure that she was comfortable for the rest of her life.
Adapted from Italian Folktales
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