When no news was forthcoming from either of the two elder brothers, the third son of the merchant asked his father for a ship so that he could try to find the whereabouts of his brothers.
The merchant had no other choice and he agreed to this.
This time too, the winds blew the third son’s ship straight to the kingdom that his brothers had come to.
The third brother also read the notice about finding the princess in the kingdom.
The third brother was fairly certain that his two elder brothers had tried to enter the competition and had failed.
Unlike his brothers, the third brother immediately did not enter the competition. He realized that he needed to find some more information about the palace, the competition and the king before he did anything.
When the third son looked around the kingdom, he found an old woman who begged him for some money.
At first the third son did not want to give her money, but the old woman was insistent. “You seem to be in trouble.” The old woman studied the third son with shrewd eyes. “If you tell me what the problem is, I may be able to help you.”
At first the third son hesitated. Then the third son realized that he might as well tell the old woman everything and told the old woman about his two elder brothers.
The old woman laughed when she heard the third son. “If you have enough money, I can help you.” The old woman told the third son.
The third son was flabbergasted, as he listened to the old woman’s plan.
Adapted from Italian Folktales
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