Before the bull entered the forest he said to the king’s daughter: “Now when we get into this forest, in heaven’s name be careful! You must touch nothing, and not even tear off so much as a single leaf, or else it is all up with you and me. A troll with six heads lives here, and the forest belongs to him, and I will hardly be able to hold my own against him!”
“Yes,” said the king’s daughter, “indeed I will be careful, and not touch the least thing, just as you have told me.” But when they entered the forest, it was so thick that it was almost impossible to win through. She was as careful as she could be, and avoided the branches, and thrust them aside with her hands; but the branches struck her in the face each moment, and in spite of all her care a leaf did remain in her hand.
“Alas, alas!” cried the bull. “What have you done! Now I must fight for my very life, for the troll with six heads is twice as strong as the first one; but see that you take care of the leaf and keep it carefully!”
At once the troll came rushing up. “Who has touched my forest?” cried he. “The forest is as much mine as yours!” cried the bull. “Oho, we’ll see if it is!” cried the troll. “That suits me!” said the bull, and rushed on the troll, gored him, and thrust his horns right through him. But the troll was just as strong, and it took three whole days before the bull got the better of him. After that he was so weak and feeble that he could scarcely move, and so full of wounds that his blood ran in streams. Then he told the king’s daughter to take the horn of ointment that hung at the troll’s girdle, and anoint him with the salve. She did so, and he recovered again: yet they had to remain a time on the spot, until he was once more able to go on.
At last they set out again; but the bull was still weak, and at first they went slowly. The king’s daughter wanted to spare him, and said she was young and quick on her feet, and could walk very well; but this he would not allow, and she had to sit on his back. Thus they wandered for a long time, and through many lands, and the king’s daughter had no idea where they might be going; but at length they came to a golden forest. It was very beautiful, and the gold dripped down from it, for the trees, and branches and leaves and buds were all of purest gold. And here all went as it had in the copper and silver forests. The bull told the king’s daughter that in no case was she to touch anything, since a troll with nine heads lived here, to whom the forest belonged. And he was much larger and stronger than the two others together, and he did not believe he could hold his own against him. Yes, said she, she would be sure to pay attention and positively would not touch a thing. But when they entered the forest, it was even thicker than the silver forest, and the further they went the worse it became. The forest grew thicker and denser, and at last it seemed as though it would be impossible to push on at all. She was much afraid of tearing off anything, and wound and twisted and bent herself in every direction, in order to avoid the branches, and thrust them aside with her hands. But each moment they struck her in the face, so that she could not see where she was reaching, and before she had a chance to think, she held a golden apple in her hand. Then she was terribly frightened, and began to cry, and wanted to throw it away. But the bull told her to keep it, and hide it carefully, and consoled her as best he could. Yet he thought that the battle would be a hard one, and was in doubt as to whether it would end well.
But now the troll with the nine heads came rushing up, and he was so frightful that the king’s daughter could scarcely bear to look at him. “Who has touched my forest?” he shouted. “The forest is as much mine as yours!” cried the bull. “We’ll see if it is!” cried the troll. “That suits me!” said the bull, and with this they rushed on each other, so that it was a fearsome sight, and the king’s daughter nearly fainted. The bull gored the troll through and through with his horns; but the troll was as strong as he, and as soon as the bull killed one of his heads, the others breathed fresh life into it, and it took a full week before the bull got the better of him. But then he was so wretched and so weak that he could not move a bit. His whole body was covered with wounds; and he could not even tell the king’s daughter to take the horn of ointment from the troll’s girdle and anoint him with the salve. But she did so of her own accord, and then he recovered again. Yet they had to stay where they were for three whole weeks, until he was able to go on again.
At last they once more went slowly on their way; for the bull said they still had a little further to go, and they went over many great hills and through thick forests. After a time they came to a rock. “Do you see anything?” asked the bull. “No, I see only the sky and the rock,” said the king’s daughter. But when they went on up the hills were more level, so that they had a broader outlook. “Do you see something now?” asked the bull. “Yes, I see a small castle, far, far in the distance,” said the princess. “And yet it is not so small,” said the bull. At length they came to a great mountain with a steep, rocky face. “Do you see something now?” asked the bull. “Yes, now I see the castle close by, and it is much, much larger,” said the king’s daughter. “That is where you must go!” said the bull. “Just below the castle is a pig-sty, and if you go into it you will find a wooden coat. You must put it on, and go with it into the castle, and say your name is Kari Woodencoat, and ask for a place. But now take your little knife and cut off my head; then draw off my skin, roll it up and lay it at the foot of the rock. But in it you must place the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the golden apple. Outside, against the hill, is a stick, and if you want anything of me, all you need do is to knock at the mountain-side.” At first the princess could not at all make up her mind to do this; but when the bull told her that this was the only reward he wanted for all the good he had done her, she could not refuse. It made her heart ache, yet in spite of it, she took her knife and cut until she had cut off the head of the great beast, and had drawn off his skin, and then she laid the latter at the foot of the rock, and in it she placed the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the golden apple.
When she had done this she went to the pig-sty, but she wept a great deal and felt sad. Then she put on the wooden coat, and went to the king’s castle in it. She asked for a place in the kitchen, and said her name was Kari Woodencoat. Yes, said the cook, she might have a place if she cared to wash up, for the girl who had formerly attended to it had run away. “And after you have been here a while, no doubt you will have enough of it, and run away from us, too,” said he. No, indeed, she would not do so.
She was most industrious at her washing up. On Sunday they expected company at the king’s castle; and Kari asked permission to take up water to wash in to the prince. But the others laughed at her and cried; “What do you want to do there? Do you think the prince will have anything to do with you, homely as you are?” But she kept on asking, and at length received permission.
And then, as she ran up the stairs, her wooden coat clattered so loudly that the prince came out and asked: “And who are you?” “I came to bring you water to wash in,” said Kari. “Do you think I want the water you are bringing me?” cried the prince, and poured the water out over her head. So she had to go off; but she asked permission to go to church. And she received permission, for the church was close by. But first she went to the rock and knocked at it with a stick, as the bull had told her. And a man came out at once and asked what she wanted. The king’s daughter said that she had permission to go to church and hear the sermon, but that she had no dress to wear. Then the man gave her a dress that shone like the copper forest, and a horse and a saddle as well. When she came to church she looked so beautiful that all the people wondered who she might be, and none of them listened to the sermon, because they were all looking at her. She even pleased the prince so much that he could not keep from looking at her.