A soldier was returning home from the wars, tired and tattered. On the way, he met an old woman who wanted some help. She was actually a witch. She pointed to a hollow in a tree and said, “Go into that hollow, son. You will find a chest with a dog having eyes as large as saucers. Spread this apron in front of him and he will sit on it without harming you. Then collect the copper coins from the chest. In the same way, collect silver and gold coins from the chests on which sit dogs with eyes as large as windmills and as towers. Then fetch me the old tinder-box that lies inside.”
The soldier did as she told him but he said he would give her the tinder-box only if she told him why she wanted it. When the old woman refused to tell him, the soldier killed her and went off with all the money and the tinder-box which he got from the tree-hollow.
The soldier bought himself new clothes and lived lavishly till all his money finished and he became poor again. Sitting in the dark, one night he remembered the tinder-box and lit it. Suddenly, the dog with saucer-like eyes appeared and asked what he wished. He learnt that the dog with saucer-like eyes would appear if he struck the box once. If he struck it twice, the dog with windmill-sized eyes would appear and if he struck the box thrice, the third dog would appear! Soon, he became as rich as he was earlier.
Now, the soldier wished to meet the Princess who was said to be very beautiful. So, the first dog went to the palace at night and carried the sleeping Princess to the soldier. He fell in love with her and wished to see her again, the next night. The Princess too had fallen in love with the soldier in her dream-like state. But the Queen was alert and followed the dog. She discovered that the Princess was being taken to the soldier.
The Queen was very angry and had the soldier imprisoned. The soldier made friends with a shoe-maker’s son and sent him to fetch his old tinder-box. When the Queen asked him what he wished for before he was executed, the soldier said that he wished to smoke. When the Queen permitted him, he used his tinder-box to light the cigarette. The three ferocious dogs appeared. He ordered them to attack everyone and save him.
The dogs killed the Queen and many other people. The soldier married the Princess and they became the King and the Queen.
