A king once lived near a great, dark forest. He often sent hunters into the woods, but they never came back. Finally, people became too afraid to enter the forest, and it stayed silent for many years.
One day, a brave hunter arrived and offered to go inside. He took his dog with him. While they were walking, they found a deep pool of water. Suddenly, a giant arm reached out of the water, grabbed the dog, and pulled it under.
The hunter ran back and got several men to help him. They used buckets to empty the pool. At the bottom, they found a wild man. His skin was brown like rusty iron, and his hair grew down to his knees. They tied him up and took him to the castle. The king put the wild man in an iron cage and gave the key to the queen.
The king had an eight-year-old son. One day, while the boy was playing in the courtyard, his golden ball rolled into the cage.
"Give me my ball!" the boy cried.
"Only if you set me free," the wild man replied.
The boy refused at first, but on the third day, he was so sad about his ball that he agreed. The wild man told him, "The key is under your mother's pillow." The boy stole the key and opened the cage. As the wild man walked away, the boy got scared. "Don't leave me!" he cried. "I will be punished!"
The wild man, whose name was Iron Hans, picked up the boy and carried him into the forest. "You cannot go home now," he said. "But I will take care of you."
Iron Hans took the boy to a magical well. "This water turns everything into gold," he said. "Watch it carefully. Do not let anything fall in."
But the boy failed three times. First, his finger touched the water and turned to gold. Then, a hair fell in. Finally, the boy looked at his reflection, and his long hair touched the water, turning his whole head into shining gold.
Iron Hans said, "You have failed the test. You must go into the world and learn how to be poor. But because you have a good heart, I will help you. If you are ever in trouble, come to the forest and call 'Iron Hans!'"
The prince traveled to a great city and found work at the palace. At first, he worked in the kitchen, but later he became the gardener’s boy. He always wore a cap to hide his golden hair.
One day, the king’s daughter saw his hair glittering in the sun. She asked him to bring her flowers. When he arrived, she pulled off his cap, and his golden hair fell over his shoulders. She liked him very much and gave him gold coins, but he gave the money to the gardener's children.
Soon, a war broke out. The gardener’s boy wanted to fight, but the other soldiers laughed at him and gave him a three-legged horse. He rode to the forest and called, "Iron Hans!"
Iron Hans appeared and gave him a powerful horse and a troop of soldiers in iron armor. The boy rode to the battle and defeated the enemy. Afterward, he returned the armor and horse to Iron Hans and went back to the palace on his three-legged horse.
To find the mysterious knight who won the war, the king held a three-day festival. His daughter was to throw a golden apple, and whoever caught it three times would be the winner.
The boy called Iron Hans again. On the first day, he arrived in red armor. On the second, in white. On the third, in black. He caught the apple every time. On the last day, the king’s men chased him and wounded his leg, but he escaped.
The princess asked the gardener about his boy. "He came home with three golden apples!" the gardener said.
The king summoned the boy. When the princess pulled off his cap, his golden hair shone brightly. He showed them the three apples and the wound on his leg. "I am a prince," he said, "and I was the knight who helped you win the war."
The king was happy and gave him his daughter in marriage. During the wedding feast, the doors opened and a great king entered. It was Iron Hans! "I was under a magic spell," he said. "By setting me free and showing your bravery, you have broken the spell. Now, all my treasures are yours."