A Queen had a little daughter who was crying loudly. The Queen lost her patience and saw ravens flying outside. She said, "I wish you were a raven so you would fly away and leave me in peace!"
Immediately, the child turned into a raven and flew into a dark forest. Many years later, a man was walking through the woods and heard the raven speaking. "I am a princess," she said. "You can save me from this spell. Go to the house of the old woman further in the wood. She will offer you food and drink, but you must not take anything. If you eat or drink, you will fall asleep and fail to save me."
The man promised to be careful. But at the house, the old woman persuaded him to drink just one glass of wine. When he went to the garden to wait for the princess, he fell into a deep sleep. The princess arrived in a carriage with white horses, but she could not wake him up.
This happened for three days. Each day, the man drank the wine and slept. On the third day, the princess arrived in a black carriage. She realized he could not save her there. She left him a loaf of bread, some meat, and a bottle of wine that would never run out. She also gave him a gold ring and a letter. The letter said: "Come to the Golden Castle of Stromberg if you still want to save me."
When the man woke up, he read the letter and felt terrible. He started to look for the castle. He walked for a long time and eventually met a giant. The giant looked at his maps but couldn't find the castle. However, the giant’s brother had a much older map, and they finally found it. It was thousands of miles away. The giant was kind and carried the man most of the way.
The man arrived at the Golden Castle, but it was on top of a mountain made of glass. It was too slippery to climb. He lived in a small hut at the bottom for a whole year, watching the princess drive her carriage around the castle every day.
One day, he saw three robbers fighting. They had three magic items: a stick that could open any door, a cloak that made you invisible, and a horse that could climb anything—even a glass mountain. The man tricked the robbers and took the items.
He rode the magic horse up the glass mountain and used the stick to open the castle doors. He was invisible because of the cloak. He went into the princess’s room and dropped his gold ring into her wine cup.
"That is my ring!" she cried. "The man who can save me must be here!"
The man took off his cloak, and the princess was overjoyed to see him. The spell was broken, and they were married the very next day.