Ferdinand the Faithful (Grimm)
Short summary
A poor couple's son received a beggar as godfather who named him Ferdinand the Faithful and gave him a key to use at age fourteen.
At fourteen, Ferdinand found a castle containing a magical white horse. While traveling, he rescued a fish that gave him a flute, then met Ferdinand the Unfaithful. Both men entered the King's service - Ferdinand as outrider, the other as servant. When the King desired a distant princess, Ferdinand fetched her using ships of meat and bread to appease giants and birds, guided by his talking horse. He later retrieved her writings from the castle.
The Queen disliked the noseless King but loved Ferdinand. She demonstrated her magic by cutting off Ferdinand's head and restoring it. When the King asked her to try it on him:
But she cut off his head, and did not put it on again; but pretended that she could not get it on, and that it would not keep fixed.
She married Ferdinand, whose white horse then transformed into a prince.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Ferdinands birth, the mysterious key, and discovery of the white horse
A poor couple had no children when they were rich, but when they became poor, they had a little boy. Unable to find a godfather for their child, the man went searching elsewhere. He met a poor man who offered to be the godfather, explaining that though he was poor and could give nothing, he would still serve in this role.
Go home and tell the nurse that she is to come to the church with the child... I can give you nothing, and you likewise ought to give me nothing.
At the church, the beggar named the child Ferdinand the Faithful. Before leaving, he gave the nurse a key, instructing that when the boy turned fourteen, he should go to the heath where a castle stood that the key would open, and everything inside would belong to him. When Ferdinand was seven, he asked his father about his godfather's gift and learned about the key, but found no castle on the heath. Seven years later, at fourteen, Ferdinand returned and discovered the castle. Inside was only a white horse, which filled him with joy.
The journey begins: magical helpers and a rival
Ferdinand mounted his white horse and set out to travel. On the road, he found a pen and initially thought to leave it, but a mysterious voice called after him.
Ferdinand the Faithful, take it with thee... He looked around, but saw no one, then he went back again and picked it up.
Later, Ferdinand helped a gasping fish by throwing it into a lake. The grateful fish gave him a flute, promising to help whenever he played it and to retrieve anything he dropped in water. Ferdinand then met another traveler who introduced himself as Ferdinand the Unfaithful.
This man possessed wicked arts that allowed him to know Ferdinand's every thought and intention. At an inn, they met an honest girl who fell in love with Ferdinand the Faithful and helped him secure a position as the King's outrider.
The first quest: rescuing the sleeping princess
The King constantly lamented his loneliness, wishing for his beloved. Ferdinand the Unfaithful, always hostile to his namesake, suggested that Ferdinand the Faithful be sent to fetch the King's love, threatening death if he failed. When Ferdinand despaired in the stable, his white horse spoke to him for the first time.
Ferdinand the Faithful, why weepest thou?... Then for the first time he was aware that it was his little white horse who was putting that question.
The horse instructed Ferdinand to ask the King for ships filled with meat and bread to appease the giants and birds guarding the princess's castle. When Ferdinand reached the lake with the provisions, he spoke the words the horse had taught him.
Peace, peace, my dear little giants... Something I have brought for ye... Peace, peace, my dear little birds... Something I have brought for ye
The giants and birds were satisfied with the offerings and helped Ferdinand. The giants carried the sleeping princess in her bed to the ship and then to the King. However, the princess declared she could not live without her writings, which remained in her castle.
The second quest: retrieving the princesss writings
Again at Ferdinand the Unfaithful's instigation, Ferdinand the Faithful was ordered to fetch the princess's writings or die. Following the same procedure with ships full of provisions, Ferdinand successfully reached the castle and retrieved the writings from the princess's bedroom table. On the return journey, he accidentally dropped his pen into the lake. When his horse could not help, Ferdinand remembered the fish's gift.
As thou hast helped me out of the mud I will give thee a flute; when thou art in any need, play on it, and then I will help thee
Ferdinand played the flute, and the fish appeared with the pen in its mouth. He successfully delivered the writings to the castle, where the wedding was celebrated between the King and the princess.
The Queens magic, Ferdinands triumph, and the horses secret
The Queen did not love the noseless King but favored Ferdinand the Faithful. She demonstrated her magical ability by cutting off Ferdinand's head and reattaching it, leaving only a red thread mark around his throat. When the King asked her to perform the same feat on him, she cut off his head but pretended she could not reattach it.
Then the King was buried, but she married Ferdinand the Faithful... the white horse stood up on its hind legs, and was changed into a King's son.
After marrying Ferdinand the Faithful, the Queen ruled with him. One day, the white horse instructed Ferdinand to ride to the heath and gallop around it three times. When Ferdinand completed this task, the horse revealed its true nature by transforming into a King's son, finally freed from its enchantment.