“Wilt thou row me over, grandfather?” asked the king.
“Why should I not, since that is what I am here for?”
The king took a seat in the boat. The old man rowed without hurrying; but the boat moved lightly over the smooth water, like a fly through the blue sky. When they reached the middle of the lake the old man turned to one side. Then the king saw a grand castle half hidden in the dark forest.
“Oh, what a beautiful castle! Who reigns there?” asked the king.
“Thou wilt learn if thou enter,” replied the old man. When they touched the shore he gave the king a green twig, and said: “Take this twig; it will be of use to thee. Good-by, for thou wilt not see me again.”
“But who will take me back?”
“No one. Thou wilt go back on dry land;” and turning aside, he disappeared.
The king went straight to the palace; and if he wondered at the words of the old man, he was still more astonished when he entered the principal gate and saw no living soul. Thoughtfully he ascended the broad steps, went through one chamber, then another, a third, and a fourth; but nowhere did he find a living creature. “This is some enchanted castle,” thought the king to himself. “Who knows how I shall escape? But I will see all, and then find the way home.” He examined the chambers further till he came to the last, and there in the middle of the room sat an old man, bent to the floor. “I said this was an enchanted castle,” thought the king; “here sits one man!”
The old man raised his head, and seeing the king, said: “Welcome; at last I see a human face!”
The king approached him and asked: “Who art thou, and what does this empty palace mean?”