Iron John (Grimm)
Short summary
A king's forest became dangerous when huntsmen began disappearing. A brave huntsman discovered a wild man in a pool, who was captured and caged. The wild man was called Iron John.
The king's eight-year-old son freed Iron John to retrieve his golden ball and fled with him to avoid punishment.
Iron John tested the boy at a golden well, but the boy failed thrice, turning his hair golden. Dismissed but promised help, the boy found work as a gardener's assistant at another king's palace. The princess discovered his golden hair. When war threatened the kingdom, the boy called Iron John, who provided him with armor and an army. He saved the kingdom and won golden apples at royal festivals but kept his identity secret. Finally revealed as the mysterious knight, he married the princess. At the wedding, a stately king appeared.
I am Iron John, and was by enchantment a wild man, but thou hast set me free; all the treasures which I possess, shall be thy property.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The haunted forest and capture of the wild man
A King owned a great forest near his palace, filled with wild animals. When he sent a huntsman to shoot a roe, the man never returned. Two more huntsmen sent to search for him also disappeared, along with their pack of hounds.
From that time forth, no one would any longer venture into the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness and solitude, and nothing was seen of it
Years later, a strange huntsman offered to enter the dangerous forest. Despite the King's warnings, the brave man ventured in with his dog. The dog was quickly seized by a naked arm that emerged from a deep pool and dragged underwater.
The golden ball and liberation of Iron John
The huntsman returned with three men who bailed out the pool with buckets.
When they could see to the bottom there lay a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to his knees.
They bound the wild man and brought him to the castle, where the King had him imprisoned in an iron cage in the courtyard. The Queen kept the key, and opening the door was forbidden on pain of death. The King's eight-year-old son was playing in the courtyard when his golden ball fell into the cage.
The wild man refused to return the ball unless the boy opened his cage. For two days the prince refused, but on the third day, when the King was hunting, the wild man told him the key lay under his mother's pillow.
The tests at the golden well
The boy, who wanted to have his ball back, cast all thought to the winds, and brought the key. The door opened with difficulty, and the boy pinched his fingers.
The wild man gave him the ball and hurried away, carrying the frightened boy on his shoulders into the forest. He revealed himself as Iron John and took the boy to a golden well, bright and clear as crystal.
The boy was tasked with guarding the well and ensuring nothing fell into it. On the first day, his injured finger hurt so much he dipped it in the water, and it turned to gold. On the second day, a hair fell in and became gilded. On the third day, while looking at his reflection, all his hair fell into the well and turned golden.
Iron John discovered each transgression and finally banished the boy from the forest, telling him he had failed the trial. Before sending him away, Iron John promised to help if the boy ever called his name in the forest, for his power was great and he possessed abundant gold and silver.
Life as a servant and gardener
The boy wandered until he reached a great city, where he sought work at the royal palace. The cook took him in to carry wood and water, but when he served food at the royal table while wearing his cap, the King demanded he remove it. The boy claimed he had a sore head, so the cook exchanged him for the gardener's boy.
While working in the garden on a warm day, he removed his cap to cool himself. His golden hair glittered in the sunlight, catching the attention of the King's daughter, who called for him to bring her flowers. When she tried to remove his cap, he held it fast, but she gave him ducats which he gave to the gardener's children as playthings.
War, tournaments, and golden apples
When war came, the gardener's boy requested a horse to join the battle. The others mocked him and left him a lame horse. He rode to the forest and called for Iron John, who provided him with a magnificent steed and an army of iron soldiers. The boy led them to victory, defeating the superior enemy forces completely, then returned the magical army and took back his lame horse.
The King proclaimed a three-day festival where his daughter would throw golden apples. The mysterious knight who had won the war might attend. Each day, Iron John equipped the boy differently - as a red knight on a chestnut horse, a white knight on a white horse, and finally a black knight on a black horse. Each day he alone caught the golden apple and rode away.
On the third day, the King's men pursued him and wounded his leg with a sword. His helmet fell off, revealing his golden hair. The next day, the King summoned the gardener's boy, and the princess removed his cap, revealing his identity as the mysterious knight.
The wedding and Iron Johns transformation
The prince revealed his true identity and asked for the King's daughter in marriage. She agreed, having already been charmed by his golden hair. At their wedding feast, a stately King entered with a great retinue - it was Iron John, freed from his enchantment as a wild man. He declared that all his treasures would now belong to the prince who had liberated him.