The Sea-Hare

Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a castle with a tall tower. High up under the roof she had a room with twelve windows. When she looked out of these windows she could see every corner of her kingdom.

The first window made her sight sharper than any other person's, the second made her see even better, the third clearer still, and so on, until the twelfth window, which let her see everything above the earth and below the earth. Nothing in the whole world could be hidden from her.

The princess was very proud and did not want to obey anyone. She wanted to rule all by herself. So she made a law: no man could marry her unless he could hide so well that she could not find him.

But if she did find him, he would lose his head and his head would be stuck on a pole. Already ninety-seven poles stood in front of the castle, each with a dead man's head on it. For a long time no one had tried.

The princess was happy and thought, "Now I will be free for the rest of my life."

Then three brothers came to the castle. They wanted to try their luck. The oldest brother thought he would be safe if he crept into a lime-pit. But the princess saw him from the first window. She made him come out, and his head was cut off.

The second brother crept into the cellar of the palace. She saw him from the first window too. His head was placed on the ninety-ninth pole. Then the youngest brother came to her. He was very handsome and begged her to give him a day to think.

He also asked her to forgive him if she discovered him twice, but if he failed the third time, he would accept his fate. The princess liked his looks and his pleas, so she said, "Yes, I will grant you that, but you will not succeed."

The next day the young man thought hard about where to hide, but he could not think of a place. He took his gun and went hunting. He saw a raven and aimed at it. Just as he was about to shoot, the raven cried out, "Don't shoot!

I will help you later." The young man lowered his gun and walked on. He came to a lake where a big fish had come up to the surface. He aimed at it, but the fish cried, "Don't shoot! I will help you later." He let the fish dive down again.

Then he met a fox that was limping. He fired but missed. The fox said, "Come and pull the thorn out of my foot instead." The young man did that. Then he wanted to kill the fox and skin it, but the fox said, "Stop!

I will help you later." So the young man let the fox go, and then he went home as evening fell.

The next day it was time for him to hide. He still did not know where to go. He went into the forest to the raven and said, "I spared your life. Now tell me where I should hide so that the princess cannot find me." The raven hung its head and thought for a long time.

At last it croaked, "I have an idea!" It fetched an egg from its nest, cut it in two, and put the young man inside. Then it closed the egg again and sat on it. The princess went to her windows. From the first she saw nothing.

From the others she saw nothing. She began to worry. But from the eleventh window she saw him inside the egg. She ordered the raven to be shot and the egg to be brought and broken. The young man had to come out. She said, "This time I forgive you.

But if you do not do better next time, you are lost!"

The next day the young man went to the lake. He called the fish and said, "I spared your life. Now tell me where to hide so that the princess cannot see me." The fish thought for a while and then cried, "I have it!

I will hide you in my stomach." It swallowed the young man and swam down to the bottom of the lake. The princess looked through her windows. She did not see him from the eleventh window and was alarmed. But from the twelfth she saw him inside the fish.

She ordered the fish to be caught and killed. So the young man came out. Everyone can imagine how scared he was. She said, "Twice you are forgiven. But make sure your head does not end up on the hundredth pole!"

On the last day the young man walked sadly into the countryside. He met the fox. "You know all kinds of hiding places," he said. "I spared your life. Now advise me where to hide so that the princess cannot find me." "That is a hard task," said the fox and looked very thoughtful.

At last he cried, "I have it!" He led the young man to a spring and dipped himself in the water. When he came out, he had turned into a market stall-keeper who sold animals. The young man also had to dip himself in the water. He turned into a tiny sea-hare.

The merchant went into town and showed the pretty little animal. Many people gathered to see it. At last the princess also came. She liked the sea-hare very much and bought it for a lot of money.

Before the merchant handed it over, he whispered to the sea-hare, "When the princess goes to the window, crawl quickly under her braids."

Now it was time for the princess to search for him. She went to each window in turn, from the first to the eleventh, and she did not see him. When she did not see him from the twelfth either, she grew anxious and angry.

She slammed the window shut with such force that the glass in every window shattered into a thousand pieces, and the whole castle shook. She went back and felt something under her braids. It was the sea-hare. She grabbed it and threw it to the ground, shouting, "Get away from me!

Out of my sight!" The sea-hare ran to the merchant, and both hurried to the spring. They plunged into the water and turned back into their true forms. The young man thanked the fox and said, "The raven and the fish are fools compared to you!

You certainly know the right way to do things."

The young man went straight to the palace. The princess was already waiting for him, and she accepted her fate. They got married, and he became king and ruled the whole kingdom. He never told her where he had hidden the third time or who had helped him. She believed he had done it all by himself, and she respected him greatly. She thought, "He can do more than I can."