The king sat down and wrote a letter to the queen. This is what he said:
“Have the young man who delivers this letter run through with a sword at once. He is a dangerous enemy. Let him be dispatched before I return. Such is my will.”
He folded the letter, made it secure, and sealed it with his own signet.
Plavachek took the letter and started out with it at once. He had to go through a deep forest where he missed the path and lost his way. He struggled on through underbrush and thicket until it began to grow dark. Then he met an old woman who said to him:
“Where are you going, Plavachek?”
“I’m carrying this letter to the king’s palace and I’ve lost my way. Can you put me on the right road, mother?”
“You can’t get there today,” the old woman said. “It’s dark now. Spend the night with me. You won’t be with a stranger, for I’m your old godmother.”
Plavachek allowed himself to be persuaded and presently he saw before him a pretty little house that seemed at that moment to have sprung out of the ground.
During the night while Plavachek was asleep, the old woman took the letter out of his pocket and put in another that read as follows:
“Have the young man who delivers this letter married to our daughter at once. He is my destined son-in-law. Let the wedding take place before I return. Such is my will.”