A witch stopped a soldier returning from the war and gave him a chance to be rich.
“Go down the hollow of that tree using a rope,” said the witch, “There are three rooms, each with a chest containing coins. One has copper, the second silver and the third gold coins. On the first chest sits a dog with eyes as big as teacups. On the second is a dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels. And the third dog has eyes as big as a tower. Spread this blue-checked apron of mine on the floor and put the dog on it. Then you take the coins as the dogs will not harm you,” she said.
“But what do you get from this?” asked the soldier.
“You’ll find an old tinder box that holds flint to light fires,” she said, “Bring me that.”
The soldier took her blue-checked apron and went down the hollow. He did as she said and took the copper coins. Then he left the copper and decided to take the silver coins. But the gold coins were better still, so he emptied the silver coins and filled his pockets and bag with gold coins.
He found the tinder box and, picking it up he came out of the tree. Before giving her the box he asked her why she wanted it. “Tell me or I’ll kill you,” he said. Furiously, the witch tried to grab it, but the soldier killed her with his sword.
The soldier was rich now. He went to a town and stayed at an inn. He bought new clothes and boots. Then he set off to see the town.
He saw a large mansion and asked a man who stayed there. “It’s the King’s daughter,” said the man, “But we have never seen her, as the King does not wish her to meet anyone. It was foretold by an old woman that she would marry an ordinary soldier. So, the king has locked up his daughter to stop her from marrying any soldier.”
The soldier became curious to see the princess. He decided to try out the tinder box and rubbed a flint in the box. The dog with eyes as big as teacups appeared immediately, to the utter surprise of the soldier.
The soldier said he wished to see the Princess. The dog vanished and returned in a while carrying the sleeping princess on its back. The soldier was fascinated by her beauty and kissed her. The dog had taken her back before she awoke.
Next morning, the princess narrated the whole incident which she thought was a dream she had at night. The Queen set a lady-in-waiting to watch her at night. The dog came again and took her to the soldier and back. The lady marked the door of the house with a cross. But the dog saw it and cleverly marked all the houses, so the next day they couldn’t find out where she went.
The next night, the Queen tied a small bag with a hole in it on the princess. The bag contained flour that kept trickling out as the dog carried her to the soldier and back. The dog did not see the trail of flour and so the soldier was caught and imprisoned.
He looked out of the window and saw a little boy walking along outside the prison. He asked him to go to the inn and fetch his tinder box. The boy brought it and passed it to him through the window. When he got it, he rubbed the flint thrice. His three faithful dogs appeared and broke through the prison walls.
The people saw the soldier walking down the street with the three ferocious dogs at his heels. They cheered him as a great hero and said he deserved to marry the Princess without any doubt.
The King and the Queen had to agree to the people’s wishes. The wedding of the soldier to the Princess was celebrated in a grand way, and they lived happily ever after with their dogs.
