Johannes couldn’t say enough about how nicely the princess had greeted him, and how beautiful she was. He was already longing for the next day when he would return to the castle and try his luck at guessing.
But the traveling companion shook his head and was pretty sad. “I’m really fond of you,” he said, “and we could have been together for a long time yet, but now I’m already going to lose you. Poor, dear Johannes! I could cry, but I don’t want to disrupt your joy on what might be the last evening we’re together. We’ll be merry, really merry. Tomorrow when you’re gone, I’ll allow myself to cry.”
All the people in the city soon found out that a new suitor for the princess had arrived, so there was great sadness. The theater was closed, and all the bakery women put black ribbons on their candied pigs. The king and queen prayed on their knees in church, and there was great misery because it couldn’t turn out any different for Johannes than it had for all the other suitors.
In the evening the traveling companion made a big bowl of punch and told Johannes that they were going to be very merry and drink a toast to the princess. But when Johannes had drunk two glasses, he became so sleepy that he couldn’t hold his eyes open. He had to sleep. The traveling companion lifted him slowly from the chair and put him to bed, and when it was dark, he took the two big wings he had cut from the swan and fastened them to his shoulders. In his pocket he put the largest bundle he had gotten from the old woman who had broken her leg, opened the window, and flew over the city, right to the castle, where he sat in a corner under the window that led to the princess’ bedroom.
It was very quiet throughout the city. When the clock struck 11:15, the window opened, and the princess, dressed in a big white coat and with long black wings, flew out over the city to a large mountain. The traveling companion made himself invisible so she couldn’t see him, flew after her, and whipped the princess with his switch so that blood ran where he struck. They rushed through the air. The wind caught her coat and spread it out on all sides, like a big sail, and the moon shone through it.
“What a hailstorm! What a hailstorm!” the princess cried with every stroke from the whip, and it served her right. Finally she got to the mountain and knocked. It sounded like thunder as the mountain opened, and the princess went inside. The traveling companion followed, for no one could see him; he was quite invisible. They walked through a large, long hallway whose walls sparkled strangely; over a thousand glowing spiders ran up and down the wall, lighting like fire. Then they went into a large chamber, built of silver and gold where red and blue flowers as big as sunflowers shone from the walls, but no one could pick those flowers because the stems were awful, poisonous snakes, and the flowers themselves were fire coming from their mouths. The whole ceiling was bedecked with shining glow worms and sky-blue bats that flapped their thin wings—it looked very strange. There was a throne in the middle of the floor, carried by four horse skeletons that had harnesses of red fire spiders. The throne itself was made of milk-white glass, and the pillows to sit on were small black mice, that bit each other in the tails. There was a canopy over it of rose-colored spider-webs, decorated with the most beautiful little green flies that shone like gemstones. In the middle of the throne sat an old troll with a crown on his ugly head, and a scepter in his hand. He kissed the princess on the forehead, let her sit beside him on the precious throne, and then the music started. Big black grasshoppers played the harmonica, and the owl struck himself on the stomach because he didn’t have a drum. It was a weird concert. Small black pixies with fireflies on their caps danced around the hall. No one could see the traveling companion for he had positioned himself right behind the throne and heard and saw everything. The courtiers, who entered at that point, were so stately and elegant, but anyone with eyes in his head could notice what they were. They were nothing other than broomsticks with cabbage heads that the troll had conjured into life and given embroidered clothes. But it didn’t matter, for they were only for decoration.
When the dancing had gone on for a while, the princess told the troll that a new suitor had arrived, and so she asked what question she should put to him the next morning when he came to the castle.
“Listen,” said the troll, “I’ll tell you something. Think of something really easy, then he won’t come up with it. Think about one of your shoes. He won’t guess that. Then have his head chopped off, but don’t forget to bring me his eyes when you come out here tomorrow night because I want to eat them.”
“Then have his head chopped off. ”
The princess curtsied deeply and said that she wouldn’t forget the eyes. Then the troll opened the mountain, and she flew home again, but the traveling companion followed after her and whipped her strongly with the whisk so that she sighed deeply about the terrible hail, and hurried as fast as she could to get through the window into her bedroom. Then the traveling companion flew back to the inn, where Johannes was still sleeping, took off his wings, and lay down on the bed, for he had reason to be tired.
Johannes woke up very early in the morning. The traveling companion got up too and said that he’d had a very strange dream about the princess and her shoes, and told Johannes to be sure to ask if the princess was thinking about her shoe. Of course that was what he had heard the troll say in the mountain, but he didn’t want to tell Johannes anything about that. So he just told him to ask if she was thinking about her shoe.
“I can just as well ask about that as about something else,” Johannes said. “Maybe what you dreamed is right because I’ve always believed that the Lord will help me. But I’ll say good bye anyway because, if I guess wrong, I’ll never see you again.”
They kissed each other, and Johannes went into the city and to the castle. The whole chamber was quite full of people. The judges were sitting in their easy chairs and had goose-down pillows under their heads because they had so much to think about. The old king stood up and dried his eyes with a white handkerchief. Then the princess walked in. She was even more beautiful than the day before and greeted everyone very warmly. However, to Johannes she gave her hand and said, “Good morning to you!”
Then Johannes had to guess what she had thought about. God, how friendly she looked at him. But when she heard him say the one word “shoe,” her face turned chalk-white, and she trembled all over. Of course, it didn’t do her any good because he had guessed correctly!
Hallelujah! How happy the old king was! He turned a somersault with a vengeance, and all the people clapped their hands for him and for Johannes, who had guessed right the first time.
The traveling companion was also very happy when he heard how well it had gone, but Johannes folded his hands and thanked God, whom he was sure would help him again the next two times. Indeed, he had to go back the very next day to guess again.
The evening went by the same as the one before. While Johannes slept, the traveling companion followed the princess out to the mountain, beating her even harder than the last time, because he had taken two of the switches along. No one saw him, and he heard everything. The princess was going to think about her glove, and he told Johannes all about this as if it had been a dream. So Johannes was able to guess correctly, and there was great joy at the castle. All the courtiers turned somersaults, as they had seen the king do the first time, but the princess just lay on the sofa and would not say a single word. Now it would all depend on whether or not Johannes could guess the third time. If all went well, he would marry the lovely princess and inherit the kingdom when the old king died. If he guessed incorrectly, he would lose his life, and the troll would eat his beautiful blue eyes.