Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there lived a witch with three sons. The three brothers were very affectionate and always took care of each other. However, their mother, the witch, did not trust them and thought they would take away her power.
One day, she turned her eldest son into an eagle and sent him to live on a high cliff. People often saw this eagle flying around. Then she turned her second son into a whale and made him live in the deepest part of the ocean. Every day, people could see the whale spouting high columns of water from the sea. Although these two brothers were turned into animals, they could still change back into human form for two hours every day.
When the youngest son saw that his two brothers had been transformed, he was terrified that he would be turned into a bear, wolf, or other wild beast. So, he decided to leave home.
He heard that a king’s daughter had been enchanted and locked in a palace called the Golden Sun Palace. Twenty-three young men had already tried to rescue her, but they all failed and never returned. There was only one last chance left. If this man failed, no one would be able to save her.
The youngest son was a brave man and was determined to find the palace and rescue the princess.
He traveled day and night, but there was never any sign of the palace. Finally, he entered a vast forest. Just when he didn’t know where to go, he suddenly saw two tall giants standing in front of him, waving. He hurried over to them.
They looked as if they were quarreling. They said to the young man, “We have quarreled over a hat. Neither of us will let the other have it because we are equally strong, and neither of us can win. To whom do you think the hat should go?”
The young man laughed and said, “You’re giants, and you’re quarreling over a hat?”
One of the giants replied, “You don’t understand. This is not an ordinary hat. It’s a magical hat that can take people anywhere! Wherever you want to go, put it on, and you’ll be there in no time.”
The young man said, “Well, let me try it first. I’ll walk forward a little bit, then call out to you to run a race. Whoever gets to me first gets the hat.”
The giant agreed, so the young man put on the hat and left. However, he was so intent on saving the princess that he forgot to promise the giant a race. As he walked, he thought, “If only I were at the door of the Golden Sun Palace right now.”
Suddenly, after he said those words, he was standing at the gate of the Golden Sun Palace!
Overjoyed, he immediately entered the palace and looked from room to room until he finally found the princess in one of the rooms. But he was startled by what the princess looked like. She was very pale with wrinkled skin, dull eyes, and red hair.
The young man asked, “Are you the princess everyone says is the most beautiful in the world?”
The princess sighed and replied, “That’s not true. I was under a spell, so what you’re seeing now is my false appearance. If you want to see what I really look like, look in this mirror.”
She handed him a mirror in which a beautiful girl appeared, sadly shedding tears.
The young man looked at the mirror and said, “I must get you out of here. No matter how hard it is, I won’t be afraid.”
The princess replied, “Only someone with the ‘crystal ball’ who uses it in front of a sorcerer can break the spell on me, and I will be restored.”
The young man said, “Tell me what to do. I am not afraid of any difficulty.”
The princess told him, “This palace is built on a hill. At the foot of the hill, there is a spring. Beside the spring, there is a very fierce bull waiting for you. You must defeat and kill it. If you succeed, a turkey will fly out of its body. There is an egg in its belly, and the crystal ball is hidden inside the egg.”
“But the turkey won’t easily drop the egg unless it has to. If the egg falls to the ground, it will immediately start a fire that will burn everything, including the crystal ball inside.”
After hearing this, the young man immediately went down the hill to the spring. Sure enough, he saw a huge bull roaring at him. Summoning his courage, he fought the bull fiercely. Finally, he killed the bull with his sword.
Soon after, a bird covered in flames flew out of the bull’s stomach, carrying the reddish egg in its beak. It was about to fly away when a familiar cry came from the sky. It turned out to be his big brother, who had turned into an eagle and was arriving. He swooped down from the clouds and chased the turkey to the sea. With nowhere to escape, the bird let go of the egg and dropped it.
Instead of falling into the sea, the egg landed on the roof of the fisherman’s house. The house immediately caught fire and began to collapse. Suddenly, a big wave rose from the sea and extinguished the flames on the roof. It turned out to be his second brother, who had turned into a whale. He swam over and lifted the waves to extinguish the fire.
After the fire was out, the young man rushed over and found the egg. The shell was cracked because it had just been doused with cold water. He carefully opened the egg and took out the crystal ball inside. Fortunately, the crystal ball was not broken.
The young man took the crystal ball and rushed to find the sorcerer. He put the crystal ball in front of the sorcerer. The sorcerer said, “Your task is done. The magic has been broken. From today on, you are the owner of the Golden Sun Palace. Also, your two brothers can change back to human form.”
Overjoyed, the young man immediately went to find the princess. When he entered the room, he found that she had completely changed. Her face was rosy, her eyes were bright, and her hair was dark and shiny. She was the most beautiful girl in the world.
Thrilled to see each other, they exchanged rings and lived happily ever after.
This story is about a young man who overcame many obstacles to rescue a princess trapped by magic. He is not only smart and brave, but he is also helped by his brothers. The whole story is full of adventure, magic, and affection.
Through this story, we learn that we shouldn’t back down in the face of difficulties because there is hope only when we persevere to the end. We also learn that love and support between family members is important and that kindness and bravery will be rewarded in the end.
