there were once two king"s sons, who went out in search of adventures, and they gave way to bad living and bad company,so that they did not return to their father"s roof. their youngest brother, whom they called the little blockhead, went in search of them; but when he found them, they jeered1 at him, that he should be so simple as to expect to find his way through a world in which they had both lost themselves- they, who had so much more cleverness than he.
journeying along together, they came to an ant-hill. the two elder brothers wanted to overturn it, for the pleasure of seeing the trouble of the poor little ants, and to see them run in all directions carrying off their eggs ; but the little blockhead said to them, "leave the poor creatures alone; i won"t have them disturbed."farther on they came to a lake, on whose surface i don"t know how many ducks were swimming. the two elder brothers wanted to carry off a couple to roast; but the youngest wouldn"t have that,1 jeered: mocked.
saying, "leave the creatures in peace ; i won"t have them killed."still farther on they saw in a tree a bees" nest, so full of honey that the sweet stuff was running all down the trunk. the two eldest brothers wanted to light a fire at the foot of the tree to smoke the bees1, and seize upon the honey ; but the little blockhead kept them back, saying, "leave these insects in peace; i won"t have them burned."at last the three brothers came into a castle whose stables were full of horses changed into stone; but no one was to be seen there. they went through all the rooms, and came at last to a door fastened with three bolts. in the middle of the door was a little wicket2, through which they could look into the chamber beyond.
there they saw a little grey-haired man sitting before a table. they called him once-twice-and he did not seem to hear them; then, without saying a word, he led them to a table loaded with good things; and when they had eaten and drunk, he led each of them to a separate sleeping-room.
next morning, the little old man came to the eldest of the brothers, and signing him to follow, led him to a table of stone, on which were written three tasks to be done, to disenchant the castle.
the first was, to search, among the moss, in the middle of the forest, for the thousand pearls of the princess, which had been sown there; and if the seeker had not found them every one before sunset, without missing a single one, he was to be changed into stone. the eldest brother spent the whole day searching for1smoke the bees: when bees smell smoke they gorge themselves with honey, and then do not care to sting.
2wicket: a small gate.
the pearls; but when the evening came he had not found more than a hundred, and was changed into stone, according to the writing on the table.
next day the second brother undertook the task, but with little better success than his elder brother had met with; he could find only two hundred pearls, and was changed into stone.
"the ducks he had saved came to meet him."at last came the little blockhead"s turn. he began searching for the pearls among the moss; but, finding the task a long and difficult one, he sat down upon a stone and began to weep. he was in this condition, when the king of the ants, whose life he had saved, arrived with five thousand of his subjects ;and in a few moments the little creatures had found all the pearls, and gathered them into a single heap.
the second task was to fish up the key of the princess"s bed- chamber, which was lying at the bottom of the lake. when the young man approached the water, the ducks he had saved came to meet him, plunged to the bottom of the lake, and brought up the key.
but the third trial was the most difficult. it was to point out the youngest and the most charming of the three princesses who lay asleep. they were exactly like one another; and the only thing in which they differed was, that before going to sleep the eldest had eaten a piece of sugar, while the second had taken a mouthful of syrup, and the third a spoonful of honey.
but the queen of the bees, whom the young man had saved from the fire, came to his help. she flew and hovered over the mouths of the three princesses, and at last alighted on the lips of the one who had eaten the honey; and thus the prince was able to point her out.
so, the spell1 being broken, all in the castle awoke fromtheir magic sleep, and those who had been changed into stone regained their human shape. the one who had been thought a blockhead married the youngest and most charming of the three princesses, and was king after his father"s death. as for his brothers, they married the two other sisters.
-grimm
1 spell: enchantment.