And into the room he went, and bent down to see what queer soup it was that boiled without a fire. As he did so, a lock of his hair dipped into the pot; and when he raised his head, the lock looked like bronze. The cauldron was full of boiling copper.
He went out and closed the door carefully behind him; and, wondering if there was a copper pot in the next room, he opened the second door. There was a cauldron inside, boiling merrily; but there was no fire to be seen. He went over and looked into the pot; and as it did not look exactly like the first one, he dipped in another lock. When he raised his head, up came the lock, weighted heavily with silver. The cauldron was full of boiling silver.
Wondering greatly at the Giant’s riches, the Prince went out, closed the door very carefully, and opened the third door. He almost tip-toed into this room, he was so curious; but he went through the same performance. And when he raised his head from the third pot that boiled without a fire, the third lock of hair was like a heavy tassel of gold. The third pot was full of boiling gold.
Full of amazement at the Giant’s great riches, the Prince hurried out of the room, and closed the door with the greatest care. By this time he was so full of curiosity that he ran as fast as he could to the fourth door. And yet he scarcely dared to open it to see the riches he was sure it hid behind it.
However, he opened it, very gently and very quietly; and there on the bench, in the window, looking out, sat a beautiful maiden.
Although the door opened very quietly, she heard the sound, and looked up. And when she saw the handsome young Prince standing in the doorway, she started toward him, and cried in great distress: “O boy, boy! why have you come here?”
The Prince told her he had come to serve the Giant, and found him a very easy master. Indeed, he said the Giant had given him nothing to do that day but clean the stable.
The maiden told him that if he tried to clean it as everyone else did, he would never finish the work, because for every pitchforkful he threw out, ten would come back.
The thing to do, she said, was to use the handle of his pitchfork, and the work would soon be done.
The Prince said he would follow her advice; and then they sat all day and talked of pleasant things. Indeed, they liked each other so well that they very soon settled that they would get married.