Prevod

Once upon a time there was a king who had a great forest near his castle, where wild creatures of every kind roamed. One day he sent a huntsman out to shoot a deer, but the man did not return. “Perhaps some misfortune has befallen him,” said the king, and the next day he sent out two other huntsmen to look for him, but they too failed to return. Then, on the third day, he summoned all his huntsmen and said, “Search the whole forest, and do not stop until you have found all three of them!” But not one of these men came home either, nor was a single dog from the pack they had taken with them ever seen again. From that time on, no one dared venture into the forest, and it lay in deep silence and solitude, with only an eagle or a hawk to be seen flying over it now and then. Many years passed in this way. Then a huntsman from a distant land came before the king, seeking employment, and offered to enter the dangerous forest. But the king would not give his consent. “There is something uncanny in that forest,” he said. “I fear you will fare no better than the others and never come out again.” The huntsman answered, “My lord, I will venture in at my own risk. I know nothing of fear.” So the huntsman went into the forest with his dog. Before long the dog picked up the scent of some game and set off in pursuit, but scarcely had it gone a few paces when it came to a deep pool and could go no farther. A bare arm reached out of the water, seized it, and pulled it under. When the huntsman saw this, he went back and fetched three men, who had to bring buckets and bail out the water. When they could see the bottom, there lay a wild man, his body as brown as rusty iron, with hair hanging over his face and down to his knees. They bound him with ropes and took him away to the castle. Everyone marvelled at the wild man, but the king had him put in an iron cage in the courtyard and forbade anyone, on pain of death, to open its door. The queen herself had to keep the key safe. From then on, everyone could enter the forest in safety once more.

The king had an eight-year-old son, who was playing in the courtyard one day when his golden ball fell into the cage. The boy ran over and said, “Give me back my ball!” “Not until you open the door for me,” answered the man. “No,” said the boy, “I will not do that. The king has forbidden it,” and he ran away. The next day he came back and asked for his ball. The wild man said, “Open my door!” But the boy would not. On the third day the king had ridden out hunting, and the boy came again and said, “Even if I wanted to, I could not open the door. I do not have the key.” Then the wild man said, “It is under your mother’s pillow. You can fetch it from there.” The boy, who wanted his ball back, cast all his misgivings aside and brought the key. The door was hard to open, and the boy pinched his finger. When it was open, the wild man stepped out, gave him the golden ball, and hurried away. The boy grew frightened and cried out after him, “Oh, wild man, do not go away, or I shall get a beating!” The wild man turned back, lifted him up, set him astride his shoulders, and strode swiftly into the forest. When the king came home, he noticed the empty cage and asked the queen how it had happened. She knew nothing about it and looked for the key, but it was gone. She called the boy, but no one answered. The king sent men out to search the fields for him, but they could not find him. Then he could easily guess what had happened, and great sorrow fell upon the royal court.

When the wild man reached the dark forest again, he set the boy down from his shoulders and said, “You will not see your father and mother again, but I will keep you with me, for you have set me free, and I feel pity for you. If you do everything I tell you, you shall fare well. I have gold and treasure enough, more than anyone else in the world.” He made the boy a bed of moss, on which he fell asleep. The next morning the man led him to a spring and said, “Look, the golden spring is as bright and clear as crystal. You must sit beside it and take care that nothing falls in, or it will be defiled. Every evening I shall come and see whether you have obeyed my command.” The boy sat down at the edge of the spring, watching as a golden fish or a golden snake appeared in it now and then, and took care that nothing fell in. As he sat there, his finger began to hurt so badly that he put it into the water without thinking. He quickly pulled it out again, but saw that it had turned entirely to gold, and however hard he tried to wipe the gold off, all his efforts were in vain. That evening Iron Hans returned, looked at the boy, and said, “What has happened to the spring?” “Nothing, nothing,” he answered, holding his finger behind his back so that the man would not see it. But the man said, “You have dipped your finger in the water. I will let it pass this time, but take care not to let anything fall in again!” Early the next morning he was already sitting beside the spring, keeping watch over it. His finger hurt again, and he ran it over his head, whereupon a hair unfortunately fell into the spring. He quickly took it out, but it had already turned entirely to gold. Iron Hans came and already knew what had happened. “You have let a hair fall into the spring,” he said. “I will forgive you once more, but if it happens a third time, the spring will be defiled, and you can no longer stay with me.” On the third day the boy sat beside the spring and did not move his finger, however much it hurt. But the hours dragged, and he gazed at his face reflected in the water. As he bent farther and farther forward, trying to look himself straight in the eyes, his long hair fell from his shoulders into the water. He quickly straightened up, but all the hair on his head had already turned to gold and shone like the sun. You can imagine how frightened the poor boy was. He took his handkerchief and tied it around his head so that the man would not see. When Iron Hans came, he already knew everything and said, “Untie the cloth!” The golden hair came tumbling out, and no matter what excuses the boy made, they were of no use. “You have failed the test and can stay here no longer. Go out into the world, and there you will learn what poverty feels like. But because your heart is not wicked, and I wish you well, I will grant you one thing. If ever you are in trouble, go to the forest and call, ‘Iron Hans!’ Then I will come and help you. My power is great, greater than you think, and I have gold and silver in abundance.”

So the king’s son left the forest and travelled on, along beaten paths and untrodden ways, until at last he came to a great city. He looked for work there, but could find none, and he had learned no trade by which he could support himself. At last he went to the castle and asked whether they would take him on. The courtiers did not know what use they could make of him, but they liked him and told him to stay. Finally the cook took him into his service, saying that he could carry wood and water and sweep up the ashes. Once, when no one else was at hand, the cook told him to carry the dishes to the royal table, but because he did not want his golden hair to be seen, he kept his little hat on. The king had never encountered such a thing before and said, “When you come to the royal table, you must take off your hat!” “Oh, my lord,” he answered, “I cannot. I have a terrible scab on my head.” The king sent for the cook, scolded him, and asked how he could have taken such a boy into his service. He was to send him away at once. But the cook took pity on him and exchanged him for the gardener’s boy.

Now the boy had to plant and water, hoe and dig in the garden, and endure the wind and foul weather. Once in summer, while he was working alone in the garden, the day was so hot that he took off his little hat to let the air cool his head. As the sun shone on his hair, it glittered and flashed so brightly that its rays fell into the princess’s bedchamber, and she sprang up to see what it was. She caught sight of the boy and called to him, “Boy, bring me a bunch of flowers!” He hastily put on his little hat, picked some wildflowers, and tied them together. As he was going up the stairs with them, he met the gardener, who said, “How can you bring the princess a bunch of such common flowers? Hurry and fetch some others, and choose the finest and rarest!” “Oh, no,” answered the boy, “the wild ones have a stronger scent, and she will like them better.” When he came into her room, the princess said, “Take off your little hat. It is not proper to keep it on in my presence.” Again he answered, “I must not. My head is covered in scabs.” But she reached for his little hat and pulled it off, and his golden hair tumbled down over his shoulders, a magnificent sight. He tried to run away, but she held him by the arm and gave him a handful of ducats. He went away with them, but cared nothing for the gold. Instead, he brought it to the gardener and said, “I give this to your children. They can play with it.” The next day the princess called to him again to bring her a bunch of wildflowers, and when he came in with them, she immediately snatched at his little hat and tried to take it away, but he held it fast with both hands. Once more she gave him a handful of ducats, but he would not keep them and gave them to the gardener for his children to play with. On the third day it was just the same: she could not take away his little hat, and he would not have her gold.

Not long afterwards, war swept over the land. The king gathered his people, but did not know whether he could withstand the enemy, who was far stronger and had a great army. Then the gardener’s boy said, “I am grown now, and I want to go to war too. Only give me a horse!” The others laughed and said, “When we are gone, find yourself one. We shall leave one in the stable for you.” When they had set out, he went into the stable and led out the horse. It was lame in one leg and hobbled along, hippety-hop, hippety-hop. Nevertheless, he mounted it and rode off towards the dark forest. When he reached its edge, he called “Iron Hans!” three times, so loudly that his voice rang through the trees. At once the wild man appeared and said, “What do you ask?” “I ask for a strong steed, for I am going to war.” “You shall have it, and more than you ask for.” Then the wild man went back into the forest, and before long a groom came out leading a horse that snorted through its nostrils and could scarcely be restrained. Behind him came a troop of warriors clad entirely in iron, their swords flashing in the sun. The young man handed his three-legged horse to the groom, mounted the other, and rode at the head of the troop. As he drew near the battlefield, a great many of the king’s men had already fallen, and the rest were on the point of giving way. Then the young man charged forward with his iron-clad troop, swept over the enemy like a storm, and struck down all who opposed him. They tried to flee, but the young man was hard on their heels and did not relent until not a single man remained. Instead of returning to the king, however, he led his troop back to the forest by roundabout paths and called for Iron Hans. “What do you ask?” said the wild man. “Take back your horse and your troop, and give me my three-legged horse again!” Everything was done as he asked, and he rode home on his three-legged horse. When the king returned to his castle, his daughter came out to meet him and congratulated him on his victory. “It was not I who won the victory,” he said, “but a strange knight who came to my aid with his troop.” His daughter wanted to know who the strange knight was, but the king did not know. “He pursued the enemy,” he said, “and I have not seen him since.” She asked the gardener about the boy, but he laughed and said, “He has just come home on his three-legged horse, and the others mocked him and called out, ‘Here comes our Hippety-hop again!’ They also asked him, ‘Behind which hedge have you been lying asleep all this time?’ But he said, ‘I did better than anyone, and without me things would have gone badly.’ Then they laughed at him all the more.”

The king said to his daughter, “I shall proclaim a great festival, to last three days, and you shall throw a golden apple. Perhaps the unknown knight will come.” When the festival had been announced, the young man went out to the forest and called for Iron Hans. “What do you ask?” he said. “To catch the princess’s golden apple.” “It is as good as yours already,” said Iron Hans. “You shall also have red armour and ride a proud chestnut horse.” When the day came, the young man rode up at a gallop and took his place among the knights, and no one recognized him. The princess stepped forward and threw a golden apple to the knights, but he alone caught it, and as soon as he had it, he galloped away. On the second day Iron Hans equipped him as a white knight and gave him a white horse. Once again he alone caught the apple, but he did not linger a moment and galloped away with it. The king was angry and said, “This is not permitted. He must appear before me and tell me his name.” He gave orders that if the knight who caught the apple made off again, his men were to pursue him, and if he would not return willingly, they were to strike at him with their swords. On the third day Iron Hans gave him black armour and a black horse, and once again he caught the apple. But as he galloped away with it, the king’s men pursued him, and one came so close that he wounded him in the leg with the point of his sword. He escaped them nevertheless, but his horse gave such a mighty leap that his helmet fell from his head, and they could see that he had golden hair. They rode back and told the king everything.

The next day the princess asked the gardener about his boy. “He is working in the garden. The odd fellow went to the festival too and did not return until yesterday evening. He also showed my children three golden apples that he had won.” The king had him summoned, and he appeared with his little hat on his head once more. But the princess went up to him and took it off, and his golden hair fell over his shoulders, so beautiful that everyone marvelled. “Were you the knight who came to the festival each day in a different colour and caught the three golden apples?” asked the king. “Yes,” he answered, “and here are the apples.” He took them from his pocket and handed them to the king. “If you require further proof, you may see the wound your men gave me when they pursued me. But I am also the knight who helped you to victory over your enemies.” “If you can perform such deeds, you are no gardener’s boy. Tell me, who is your father?” “My father is a mighty king, and I have gold in abundance, as much as I could ever wish for.” “I see that I owe you my thanks,” said the king. “Can I do anything to please you?” “Yes,” he answered, “indeed you can. Give me your daughter as my wife.” Then the maiden laughed and said, “He wastes no time! But I could tell from his golden hair that he was no gardener’s boy.” Then she went up to him and kissed him. His father and mother came to the wedding and were filled with joy, for they had given up all hope of ever seeing their dear son again. And as they sat at the wedding feast, the music suddenly fell silent, the doors opened, and a stately king entered with a great retinue. He went up to the young man, embraced him, and said, “I am Iron Hans. I was bewitched and turned into a wild man, but you have set me free. All the treasures I possess shall be yours.”