Once upon a time, there was a country with a tall castle. In the castle lived a princess. She lived on the top floor of the castle, where there was a large room with twelve windows, each facing a different direction.
The princess loved standing by the windows to look out at the world. From the first window, she could see a little clearer than others; from the second window, she could see even clearer; the third, fourth… the further she looked, the farther she could see. By the twelfth window, she could almost see the entire world—everything flying in the sky, running on the ground, and swimming in the water—nothing escaped her eyes.
However, the princess had a bad temper. She was proud and thought she was very clever, looking down on everyone else. She even declared, “If anyone wants to marry me, they must hide so I can’t find them. If I find you, you’ll lose your life.”
When word spread, many came to try, but they were all found and beheaded, their heads hung on the pillars. Now there were ninety-seven pillars outside the castle, each with a head hanging from it. Seeing this, no one dared to come and challenge her anymore.
The princess thought to herself, “It seems no one will dare to bother me now. I can live happily by myself.”
But not long after, three brothers came to the palace, saying they also wanted to try their luck.
The first brother secretly climbed into a lime kiln. He thought he could hide there, but the princess saw him from the first window. She sent people to grab him, cut off his head, and hung it on the ninety-eighth pillar.
The second brother was a little smarter. He hid in the basement under the palace. But the princess still spotted him from the first window, and he was also killed, his head hung on the ninety-ninth pillar.
When it was the third brother’s turn, he didn’t hide immediately. Instead, he walked up to the princess and pleaded, “Please give me some time to think about it. Give me one more chance. If I can’t escape you the third time, I’ll accept my fate.”
The princess saw that he spoke sincerely and was handsome, so she agreed: “All right, I’ll give you one more chance. But I warn you, you won’t be able to escape my eyes.”
The young man returned home and thought long and hard about how he could escape the princess’s “eyes that see everything.” He couldn’t think of anything, so he finally decided to go out hunting to clear his mind.
As he was walking in the forest, he saw a crow flying in the sky.He raised his gun to aim at it, but just as he was about to fire, the crow suddenly cried out, “Don’t shoot! I’ll repay you!”
He put down his gun and continued on his way until he came to a lake. He saw a fish jump out of the water, so he raised his gun to aim at it, but the fish also cried out, “Don’t kill me! I’ll repay you!”
So he spared the fish and kept walking. He then came across a lame fox. He shot at it but missed. The fox cried out, “Can you help me pull the thorn out of my foot?” The young man helped him remove the thorn. Just as he was about to kill it and skin it, the fox said, “Don’t kill me! I will repay you!” So he spared it as well.
It was getting dark, so he had to go home. He had to hide the next day, but he still didn’t know where to go.
The next day, he went into the forest to find the crow and said to it, “I spared your life. Now tell me where I should hide so the princess won’t see me.”
The crow thought for a moment, then suddenly cried out, “I know a place!” It took an egg from its nest, broke it open, put the young man inside, sewed the eggshell back together, and sat on top of it pretending to hatch the egg.
The princess started looking from the first window, but searched for a long time without finding him. She tried several other windows, but still couldn’t find him. But when she came to the eleventh window, she finally saw the young man hiding inside the egg.She immediately ordered her men to shoot the crow, take the egg, and break it open. The young man had no choice but to come out.
The princess said, “I’ve let you off once. Be careful next time, or you’ll lose your life.”
On the third day, the young man went to the lake and found the fish. He said, “I let you off once. Now please tell me where I should hide so the princess can’t find me.”
The fish thought for a moment and said, “You can hide in my belly.” With that, it opened its mouth, swallowed the young man, and sank to the bottom of the lake.
This time, the princess looked from the first window to the eleventh window but couldn’t find him. She began to feel a little nervous. It wasn’t until she reached the last window that she finally saw him hiding in the fish’s belly. She immediately sent someone to catch the fish and kill it, and the young man finally crawled out of the fish’s belly.
The princess coldly said, “I have spared you twice. This is your final warning. If you are caught again, your head will be hung on the hundredth pillar.”
On the final day, the young man felt uneasy. He went back to the forest to find the fox. He said to the fox, “You are a master of hiding. I spared your life. Now please help me think of a way to hide so the princess cannot find me.”
The fox furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly, “I’ve got it! Follow me!”
It led him to a spring, jumped into the water, and emerged as a fur trader. The young man also jumped into the water and emerged as a tiny sea hare.
The trader took the adorable little creature into the city and set up a stall to display it. Many people gathered around, fascinated by the rare sea hare. Soon, the princess heard about it and came to see the commotion.
She fell in love with the little sea hare at first sight and bought it on the spot, giving the merchant a large sum of money.
Before handing over the sea hare, the merchant whispered to it, “When the princess walks past the window, you must quickly climb up and hide under her braid.”
Sure enough, the princess took the sea hare back to her room, walked to the window, and began searching from the first window, looking for the young man. She searched for a long time, checking eleven windows, but couldn’t find him. When she reached the twelfth window, she still hadn’t found him. She was so frustrated and angry that she slammed the window shut, shattering the glass and causing the entire castle to shake!
She turned to leave, but when she looked down, she saw the little sea hare hiding under her braid. She grabbed the sea hare and threw it on the ground, shouting, “Get away! Stay away from me!”
The little sea hare ran out immediately and headed straight for the merchant. The two of them ran to the spring and jumped into the water with a splash, returning to their original forms.
The young man thanked the fox, saying, “You’re so clever! Compared to the crow and the fish, you’re the real master!”
Later, the young man returned to the palace, where the princess was waiting for him. She knew she had lost and had to accept reality. They had a grand wedding, and the young man became king, ruling the entire kingdom.
As for how he managed to escape and who helped him, he never told the princess. So the princess always believed that the man was simply too clever, and she respected him even more. She thought to herself, “He is smarter than me. I am truly impressed.”
Story Summary
This story teaches us several lessons:
Don’t be arrogant or self-satisfied: Although the princess was intelligent, she was too confident, and as a result, she lost to an ordinary person.
Kindness is rewarded: The young man saved a crow, a fish, and a fox along the way, and they all helped him later.
Wisdom is more important than strength: He didn’t win through brute force, but through clever strategies and the help of his friends.
Sometimes changing your perspective can lead to a solution: Each of the three hiding methods was different, and each one was more ingenious than the last.
Although this is a fairy tale, the lessons it teaches are very practical. No matter how difficult the problem we face, as long as we are willing to think creatively and help others, we will always find a solution.
