The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Grimm)
Short summary
A poor woman gave birth to a son with a caul, prophesied to marry the King's daughter at fourteen.
The King tried to kill the baby by throwing him in a river, but the child survived and was raised by a miller.
Years later, the King sent the youth with a death letter to the Queen, but robbers changed it to a marriage order. The youth married the princess. The King demanded three golden hairs from the devil's head. On his journey, the youth promised to solve three riddles. The devil's grandmother helped him get the hairs and learn the answers. He freed a ferryman by telling him to give the oar to the next passenger.
The greedy King set out in all haste... he put the oar in his hand and sprang out. But from this time forth the King had to ferry, as a punishment for his sins.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The prophecy and the Kings attempt to drown the luck-child
A poor woman gave birth to a son who came into the world with a caul, which led to a prophecy that he would marry the King's daughter in his fourteenth year. When the King visited the village in disguise and learned of this prediction from the villagers, he became furious.
A child has just been born with a caul on; whatever anyone so born undertakes turns out well. It is prophesied, too, that in his fourteenth year he will have the King's daughter for his wife.
The King approached the parents with false kindness, offering them gold for their child and promising to care for him.
The parents eventually agreed, believing it would benefit their luck-child. The King placed the baby in a box and threw it into deep water, thinking he had eliminated the threat to his daughter's future. However, the box floated safely like a boat until it reached a mill near the King's city, where a miller's boy rescued the child.
The death letter and the robbers intervention
Fourteen years later, during a storm, the King took shelter at the mill and discovered the foundling had grown into a tall youth. Learning the boy's origins, the King realized this was the same luck-child he had tried to drown. He asked the miller's family to send the youth with a letter to the Queen, offering gold as payment. The letter contained secret orders for the boy's immediate execution upon arrival.
The youth set out with the letter but lost his way in a dark forest. He found shelter in a cottage where an old woman warned him he had entered a den of thieves. Despite the danger, the exhausted boy fell asleep. When the robbers returned and read the King's letter ordering the boy's death, they felt unexpected pity.
Then the hard-hearted robbers felt pity, and their leader tore up the letter and wrote another, saying, that as soon as the boy came, he should be married at once to the King's daughter.
When the Queen received the altered letter, she followed its instructions and arranged a splendid wedding feast. The luck-child married the King's daughter, and they lived together in joy and contentment.
The quest to Hell for the Devils three golden hairs
Upon the King's return, he discovered the prophecy had been fulfilled and demanded an explanation. Learning of the letter's alteration, the furious King set an impossible task for his son-in-law: to fetch three golden hairs from the Devil's head. The brave luck-child accepted the challenge without fear.
You shall not have everything quite so much your own way; whosoever marries my daughter must fetch me from hell three golden hairs from the head of the devil; bring me what I want.
During his journey, the luck-child encountered three towns with problems: a fountain that once flowed with wine had dried up, a tree that once bore golden apples no longer produced leaves, and a ferryman who was trapped in endless service. The youth promised to find solutions for each problem. When he reached Hell, he found the Devil absent but met his grandmother.
The Devil's grandmother took pity on the young man and transformed him into an ant, hiding him in the folds of her dress. When the Devil returned home, she cleverly obtained the three golden hairs by pretending to have bad dreams. Through her questions about the dreams, she learned the solutions to the three towns' problems: a toad under a stone caused the fountain's dryness, a mouse gnawing at the roots prevented the tree from bearing fruit, and the ferryman could gain freedom by placing the oar in the next passenger's hand.
The return journey and the Kings ultimate fate
On his return journey, the luck-child shared the Devil's solutions with each town. The grateful townspeople rewarded him with four asses laden with gold. When he presented the three golden hairs to the King, the monarch became fascinated by the tremendous wealth and demanded to know its source.
Ferry me across first, and then I will tell you how you can be set free... Next time anyone comes, who wants to be ferried over, just put the oar in his hand.
The luck-child cleverly told the King that gold lay on the river shore instead of sand, and that the ferryman could transport him there. The greedy King rushed to the river and demanded to be ferried across. However, when they reached the other shore, the ferryman placed the oar in the King's hand and escaped, leaving the King trapped forever in the ferryman's role as punishment for his sins.