In a land far away, a King’s daughter was kidnapped by a wicked troll who carried her off to a mountain. The King promised half his kingdom to any man who could rescue her.
In that kingdom a rich nobleman had twelve sons. The youngest one wanted to make his own fortune in the world. When the nobleman died, the other brothers divided all his wealth among themselves and gave twelve old mares to the youngest one. The young man kept a foal born to one of the mares and returned the mares to his greedy brothers.
The foal grew up into a huge, magni-ficent horse, dappled in colour like light and shadow. So, the young man named him ‘Shadow.’ He asked his brothers to give him a golden saddle, a bridle and strong shoes for Shadow.
He rode the horse to the palace where the King was so impressed by him that he became a favourite of the King. But some jealous courtiers finally suggested that he should be asked to rescue the Princess. So, the King declared that, if he saved her, he would get half the kingdom and also marry the Princess.
The mountain had steep, smooth slopes and it was almost impossible to climb or ride up. But at the third attempt, the brave young man went right up into the cave and carried the Princess back.
But the King thought that he must put the young man through some more tests. So, he told him that the Princess would hide twice and he must seek her. If he found her then he could marry her.
The Princess transformed herself first into a duck and the second time, she became a loaf of bread. The young man spoke to Shadow who told him to shoot the duck and cut the loaf. Terrified of being shot or cut, the Princess revealed her hiding places.
The King then told the young man that he must hide twice and if the Princess failed to find him, then he could marry her. So, after asking Shadow, he first became a tiny fly and hid inside Shadow’s nostril. Then he became a clod of mud and stuck under Shadow’s hoof.
The Princess couldn’t find him. The King now had no reason at all to break his promise, for the brave young man had succeeded in all the tests. Finally, the young man married the Princess and they lived happily thereafter. And later, they were the King and the Queen and ruled over the kingdom wisely.
