“Prince Charming,” said the fairy, “these boxes are a gift from the fairies, continue thy journey until you reach a great castle surrounded by a high wall. Stop at this high wall and open these boxes, they will help you find your queen.”
“Thank you, beautiful fairy,” said Prince Charming, and he took the three boxes and carefully placed them in his pocket.
The fairy disappeared, and the Prince walked on his way. All that day he traveled over hill and dale, and when night came he slept in the cottage of an old woman. The next morning he gave the old woman a piece of gold and started out again. He had gone a long distance when he saw before him a great castle surrounded by a wall of stone.
The wall was so high that you could only see the top of the castle. The Prince walked all around the stone wall, but there was no gate, and he wondered how he was going to climb it. Suddenly he remembered the fairy boxes and he took one out of his pocket. On opening the box he found a tiny brown seed and under it was written in very small letters the word “plant.”
The Prince took the brown seed and put it in the ground close to the stone wall, covering it lightly with the soft earth. All at once a small sprout appeared, which began to grow larger and larger, coiling itself against the stone wall and spreading like a great vine, thick and strong. In a few minutes it had grown to the top of the great wall and its stalk was so large that the Prince could easily climb it.
It did not take him very long to get over the high wall by means of the fairy vine. When he was safe on the other side he found himself in the pathway of a beautiful garden. He walked along till he came to the great door of the castle, where he knocked loudly, but no one came. He knocked again and again, and still nobody opened the door. Just then he thought of the fairy boxes, and he took the second one out of his pocket. He opened it and found a tiny key and under it read the word “unlock.”
He immediately tried the key, and in a second the castle door flew open and he walked in. A powerful king was sitting on the throne in a large hall and he welcomed Prince Charming, who told his errand.
“I have three daughters,” said the King, “and you can choose for yourself. It would be a great honor to have you make one of them your queen.”
“May I see your daughters?” asked the Prince.
“Yes,” said the King; “they are somewhere about the castle, but I will have them here at once.” The king blew a trumpet and suddenly a beautiful princess appeared and walked to her father’s throne.