Once a young traveller named John came to a church where a dead man lay in a coffin, waiting to be buried. John sat beside the coffin and prayed to God for the dead man before going on his way again.
As John walked along, a stranger asked him if he could travel with him too. John agreed and they went on together without stopping anywhere.
In a town with a magnificent palace, they stayed at an inn before going out. They learnt that the king’s daughter was beautiful but she was evil. She had said that she would marry anyone who could guess what she was thinking. If he failed, she would put a spell on him and he would vanish in a trice.
Many men had tried and had vanished. When John saw her, he too wished to marry her. His travelling companion and the innkeeper tried to dissuade him, but John was determined in his heart of hearts.
That night, the companion gave John a drink to celebrate. The drink made John fall asleep. The companion flew out of the window to the palace and made himself invisible.
He saw that the princess had got wings too. When she flew out, he followed her to a mountain that opened at her knock.
He followed the princess till she came to a room where an evil sorcerer sat on a throne made of bones wearing a golden crown and black dress!
The sorcerer instructed her to think of his golden crown. “The man will never guess and then you can send him to me to eat!” said the sorcerer.
As he left, the companion grabbed the crown and flew behind the princess, leaving the sorcerer furious.
The next day, John went to the palace with his companion. The companion put the golden crown into his hand. The angry and evil princess saw it and had to agree to marry John.
That night the companion gave a small bottle to John and told him, “Put three drops of this liquid in the princess’ drink. Then hold her hard and don’t let her go!”
John did just that. The princess struggled in his hold, turning into a black swan first and then into a white one. Finally, she returned to her normal self and smiled at John. “Thank you for breaking the spell that the sorcerer had put on me!” she said.
The next morning, John’s companion wished him goodbye. “You are happy now,” he said, “And I have been able to repay your kindness to me, for you prayed beside my coffin in church!” He vanished and John and the princess lived happily ever after.
