The King of the Golden Mountain (Grimm)
Short summary
A merchant lost all his wealth when his ships sank. Desperate, he made a deal with a black dwarf for riches, promising to deliver whatever rubbed against his leg at home in twelve years. He thought it would be his dog, but his toddler son greeted him. Twelve years later, the son went to meet the dwarf.
Protected by a priest's blessing, he escaped the dwarf by boat. The capsized boat carried him to an enchanted castle where a snake revealed herself as a princess. To free her, he endured three nights of torture by black men without speaking. She revived him with water of life, they married, and he became King of the Golden Mountain. Eight years later, he visited his parents using a wishing ring but broke his promise by bringing his wife and child. She betrayed him, taking the ring and abandoning him. He acquired magical items from three giants and returned invisible to find his wife marrying another. He revealed himself and declared:
All heads off but mine, and all the heads rolled on the ground, and he alone was master, and once more King of the Golden Mountain.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The merchants bargain and the sons departure
A merchant lived with his two young children, a boy and a girl, both still unable to walk. When his two richly-laden ships sank at sea, he lost all his wealth and was left with nothing but a single field outside town. Walking through this field in despair, he encountered a small black figure who asked about his troubles.
The black dwarf offered him unlimited wealth in exchange for the first thing that would rub against his leg when he returned home, to be delivered in twelve years' time.
The merchant thought, 'What can that be but my dog?' and did not remember his little boy, so he said yes, gave the black man a written and sealed promise.
Upon returning home, his little son tottered up and embraced his legs.
The merchant was horrified, realizing what he had promised. Soon after, he discovered a great heap of money in his garret, making him wealthy again. As twelve years approached, the merchant grew increasingly anxious. When his son learned of the bargain, he reassured his father that the black man had no power over him. The son had himself blessed by a priest, and when the appointed time came, father and son went to the field together. The son drew a protective circle around them both. The black dwarf arrived and demanded fulfillment of the contract, but after lengthy negotiations, they agreed that the son would be set adrift in a small boat on flowing water, pushed off by his father's own foot. The boat capsized, and the father believed his son was lost.
Breaking the enchantment and becoming king
The boat floated safely with the young man inside until it reached an unknown shore. He discovered a beautiful but bewitched castle and explored its empty rooms until he found a snake coiled in the last chamber. The snake was actually an enchanted maiden who had waited twelve years for her deliverer.
She explained that to break the curse, he must endure three nights of torment by black men in chains without speaking a single word. On the first night, twelve black men would come, on the second night twelve more, and on the third night twenty-four who would cut off his head. But at midnight their power would end, and if he remained silent, she would be freed and restore him to life with the water of life. The young man agreed to undergo this trial. Everything happened as foretold - he endured beatings, stabbings, and torments in complete silence.
After this their marriage was celebrated, and he was King of the Golden Mountain... there was joy and gladness in the whole castle.
Marriage and eight years of happiness
The King of the Golden Mountain lived happily with his queen for eight years. She bore him a fine son. Eventually, the king's heart was moved to visit his father, despite his wife's warnings that it would bring unhappiness. She gave him a wishing ring that could transport him anywhere instantly, but made him promise not to use it to bring her to his father's place. He agreed, put on the ring, and wished himself home.
When he arrived at his hometown, the guards refused him entry due to his strange rich clothing. He exchanged clothes with a shepherd and entered the town in disguise. His parents initially didn't believe he was their son until his mother recognized a raspberry birthmark under his right arm.
Return home and betrayal by the wife
When his father refused to believe he was truly a king, the son became angry and thoughtlessly broke his promise by wishing his wife and child to appear. They materialized instantly, but the queen wept and reproached him for breaking his word. She pretended to forgive him but secretly planned mischief. He led her to the field where his boat had been launched and lay down to sleep with his head on her lap. While he slept, she stole the ring from his finger, took their child, and wished herself back to her kingdom, leaving only her slipper behind.
When he awoke, there he lay quite deserted, and his wife and child were gone, and so was the ring from his finger, the slipper only was still there as a token.
Unable to return to his parents, who would think him a wizard, he set off to walk back to his kingdom. On his journey, he encountered three giants disputing over their father's inheritance: a sword that could cut off all heads but the wielder's, a cloak of invisibility, and boots that could transport the wearer anywhere instantly.
The giants asked him to divide their inheritance fairly. He tested each item and then used the boots to wish himself to the Golden Mountain, leaving the giants behind without their inheritance properly divided.
Regaining the throne through magic
Arriving near his palace, he heard sounds of celebration - his wife was marrying another man. Using his cloak of invisibility, he entered the wedding feast unseen. He tormented his treacherous wife by stealing food from her plate and wine from her glass before it could reach her mouth. When she fled to her chamber in dismay, he followed, struck her, and revealed himself. He then returned to the hall, announced that the true king had returned, and when the assembled nobles tried to seize him, he drew his magical sword and declared that all heads but his should fall. All the wedding guests were killed, and he reclaimed his throne as the rightful King of the Golden Mountain.