After a time the Empress went on an excursion, leaving the Prince at home in the castle. Before going she gave him the keys of the twelve rooms on the ground floor, with the words, “You may go into all of them except the twelfth. Open that one on no account, for you stake your head in that game.” With this warning she went away.
The imperial Prince remained alone in the castle, and began to wonder, “What can be in that twelfth room?” Upon this he opened one room after the other, and when he came to the twelfth he hesitated awhile about opening it. But the thought, “What can be in there?” gave him no rest.
He therefore resolved to open the room; and lo! in the middle of it stood a great open cask encircled with iron hoops, and a voice from within cried, “In Heaven’s name, brother, I adjure thee, give me a glass of water! I am perishing with thirst!”
The imperial Prince took a glass of water and poured it into the cask, whereupon one hoop of the cask fell off. Then again the voice cried out of the cask, “For Heaven’s sake, brother, I am perishing with thirst! Give me another glass of water!”
The imperial Prince poured in another glass of water, and the second hoop fell from the cask. A third time the voice cried from the cask, “In Heaven’s name, brother, I am perishing with thirst! Give me one more glass of water!”
The imperial Prince poured in a third glass, whereupon the third hoop dropped off, the cask fell asunder, and a Dragon flew out, and meeting the Empress upon the way, he carried her off as a prize. Soon her attendants came in with the news, and the unhappy imperial Prince knew not what to do for grief.
He finally decided to set out once more in search of his wife, and so he wandered a long time up and down the world until he came to a sheet of water upon the border of which he saw a little Fish floundering about in a puddle. When the Fish saw the Prince he begged him earnestly:
“For Heaven’s sake, be a brother to me and throw me back into the water! Some day I may be of the greatest use to you. Only pull off one of my scales, and if you need my help rub it a little.”
The imperial Prince took up the Fish and pulled out one of its scales. He threw the Fish into the water, but the scale he wrapped up in his handkerchief.
After a time, while he was still wandering about in the wide world, he came upon a Fox which was caught in a trap. When the Fox saw him he cried, “For Heaven’s sake, be a brother to me and set me free from this trap! I shall soon have occasion to do you service; only take one of my hairs, and when you need my service rub it a little.” So the imperial Prince took the hair and set the Fox at liberty.