Once upon a time, a soldier was walking down the main road. He took one step at a time, his steps heavy. He had a backpack on his back and a long sword hanging from his waist. He had fought in many battles, and now he was going home.
On the way, he met an old woman. She looked a little scary; her lower lip hung so long that it almost touched her chest. She said to the soldier, “Hello, young man! That’s a nice sword you’ve got there. You’ve got a big pack on your back, so it looks like you’re a veteran soldier. I have good news for you today: You could have lots and lots of money.”
The soldier smiled and said, “Thank you, granny!”
The old woman pointed to a large tree next to her and said, “Do you see that tree? It’s empty inside. If you climb through the hole at the top, you can go all the way down to the heart of the tree. I’ll give you a rope to tie around your waist, and I’ll pull you up if you want to come back up.”
The soldier asked, “What am I going to do down there?”
The witch replied, “Get money, of course! When you go down, you’ll see a long corridor lit by hundreds of lights. You’ll see three doors that can be opened. All you have to do is walk in and take the money inside.”
Then, the witch explained, “In the first house, there is a dog with unusually large eyes, like two teacups. Don’t be afraid of it. Take it down, put it on the apron I’ll give you, and open the chest. It’s full of copper coins. Take as much as you want.”
“There is also a dog in the second house with eyes as big as water wheels. Don’t be afraid of it, either. Likewise, take it down and put it on your apron. The chest is full of silver coins. Take as much as you like.”
“The third house has the biggest dog. Its eyes are bigger than anything else, as big as the round tower in our town. It won’t bite you if you take it down and put it on your apron. The chests there are full of gold, and you can take as much as you want.”
The soldier nodded and said, “That sounds good. So, how am I going to thank you? You’re not going to help me for nothing, are you?”
The witch replied, “I don’t need money. I just want you to bring me back an old lighter box that my grandmother used to leave there.”
The soldier said, “Yes, please tie the rope around my waist.”
The witch gave him her blue gingham apron and helped him tie the rope. The soldier climbed a tree and entered a hole in it.
Sure enough, he came to a long corridor with many lights on. He opened the first door and saw a dog sitting on a crate, its eyes as big as teacups. He walked up to the dog, picked it up, and laid it gently on his apron. Then he opened the box and filled his pockets with coins.
He then went into a second room where the dog had eyes like water wheels. He did the same as before: he took the dog down and replaced it with silver coins.
Finally, he came to the third room where the dog’s eyes were as big as round towers. They were spinning around, which made the dog look particularly frightening. Still, the soldier summoned his courage, took the dog down, opened the chest, and found it full of gold. He hurriedly emptied the silver coins and replaced them with gold, stuffing his pockets and shoes.
He put the dog back in the box, closed the door, and shouted, “Pull me up, old witch!”
The witch pulled him up and asked, “Did you get the tinderbox?”
The soldier then remembered and said, “Oops, I forgot!” He climbed back in, found the tinderbox, and let the witch pull him up again.
When he emerged, he wrapped all the money in the witch’s apron, slung it over his shoulder, placed the lighter box in his coat pocket, and entered the city.
It was a beautiful city. He checked into the best hotel and ordered the most expensive meal because he was rich now. The waiter looked at him, noticing his old leather shoes, and thought it was a bit strange. However, the soldier bought new clothes and shoes the next day and became a respectable gentleman.
Everyone told him that the king’s daughter was a beautiful princess who lived in a large copper palace surrounded by high walls and towers. Only the king could come and go freely because a prophecy said that the princess would marry a common soldier, which upset the king.
The soldier thought to himself, “I would like to see this princess, too.” But no one could see her.
He began spending a lot of money, often going to the theater and gardens and helping the poor. His friends said he was a good man and a hero. As time went on, however, he slowly spent all his money and had only two coppers left. He had to move from his luxurious room to a small attic on the top floor. There, he shined and mended his own shoes. His friends stopped coming to visit him because climbing the stairs was too much trouble.
One night, it was very dark, and he couldn’t afford a candle. Suddenly, he remembered that he still had a lighter, the one he had taken from the tree. He took it out, rubbed it, and when a spark came out, the door suddenly opened, and a dog with eyes like teacups appeared.
The dog said, “Master, how may I help you?”
The soldier was startled. “What’s going on here? How is this lighter box so magical? I wish I could use it to get whatever I want! Like…money!”
He asked the dog, “Can you get me some money?” As soon as the words left his mouth, the dog disappeared. A moment later, he returned with a big bag of money in his mouth.
The soldier realized that if he rubbed the box once, one dog would appear; twice, two dogs would appear; and three times, three dogs would appear. He moved back into his comfortable room, wore nice clothes, and his friends came back.
At one point, he thought, “Everyone says the princess is beautiful, but I haven’t seen her once. Why don’t I try the lighter box now?”
He took out the box, rubbed it, and a dog appeared. He said, “I’d like to meet that princess, even if just for a moment.”
The dog ran out at once and returned a moment later with the princess on his back. She had fallen asleep and was lying on the dog. The soldier could not resist kissing her.
The dog sent her back again. The next morning, the princess told her parents that she had a strange dream about a dog and a soldier who kissed her. The queen smiled and said, “That’s a funny story.”
That night, the soldier called the dog again to fetch the princess. This time, an old courtesan snuck behind the dog and drew a cross on the door of the soldier’s house, trying to memorize the location.
However, the dog was clever, too. He drew crosses on all the doors, so the old courtesan could not find the right one.
The next day, the king took his ministers everywhere, but they could not tell which door was right because there were crosses on every door.
Then, the Queen came up with another idea. She sewed a small bag onto the Princess’s back and filled it with flour. This way, the princess would leave a trail wherever she walked.
Sure enough, the dog came to fetch the princess at night and led the soldiers right to her. Along the way, the flour spilled everywhere. The next day, the king followed the flour trail to the soldier’s home.
The soldier was arrested and put in a cell. People said he would be executed the next day.
The next morning, the soldier saw many people walking toward the outer city through the window, ready to watch the execution. He heard drums and saw soldiers marching in formation. Suddenly, he saw a shoemaker’s apprentice running so fast that he dropped his shoes.
The soldier shouted, “Hey, young man! You don’t have to run so fast. There’s nothing to see until I get there. I’ll give you four dollars if you help me get my flint box back at the inn.”
As soon as the apprentice heard about the money, he ran off to retrieve the box.
When they arrived at the execution site, the king and queen were seated on a high platform, and the judge and jury were present. The soldier stood on the ladder, looking as if he were about to be hanged.
Suddenly, he said, “I have one last request. I would like to have a smoke, the last smoke of my life.”
The king agreed. The soldier took out his lighter and rubbed it a few times. One, two, three! Three dogs jumped out with eyes the size of a teacup, a water wheel, and a round tower.
They rushed at the judges, biting their noses and dragging them by their legs. They threw the judges into the air, where they turned to mush upon hitting the ground.
The king cried out, “You can’t do this to me!” But the biggest dog threw the king and queen out with them.
The soldiers stood there while the people cheered, “Elect him king! Let him marry the beautiful princess!”
The soldier got into the king’s carriage. The three dogs danced around him. The children whistled. The soldiers saluted. The princess walked out of the Copper Palace and became the new queen.
The wedding was celebrated for eight days straight, and the three dogs were invited to sit at the table in the most honorable places, their eyes wider than ever.
This story is about how a common soldier changed his destiny through bravery and luck. He gained wealth, love, and power. Though the whole story is full of fantasy, it also teaches us that a little courage and good fortune can change a person’s life.
