A soldier had served his king faithfully for many, many years. But one day, the king said, "Thank you for your service, but I don't need you anymore. Here's a tiny bit of money, now off you go!"

The soldier was very sad and very poor. He walked and walked until he came to a dark forest. As night fell, he saw a light flickering in the distance and walked towards it. It was a little hut, and an old woman peered out. "What do you want?" she croaked.
"A place to sleep and a bit of food," said the soldier.
"If you do a job for me tomorrow, you can stay," she said. The soldier agreed.

The next day, the old woman led him to an old, dry well. "My light has fallen in there," she said. "It's a blue light, and it never goes out. You must fetch it for me. I'll lower you in a basket."

The soldier, being brave, got into the basket. Down, down, down he went. At the bottom, he found the blue light, shining brightly. He signaled to be pulled up. As he neared the top, the old woman reached for the light. "Give it to me!" she demanded.
"No," said the soldier, "not until I'm safely out of this well."
The old woman got angry and tried to grab it, then let the basket drop a little, hoping he'd drop the light. But the soldier held on tight. He realized she meant to trick him. So, he said, "Fine, I'll keep it then!" He had his knife and managed to cut some roots to make footholds and climbed out himself, leaving the grumpy old woman by the well.

He walked on, the blue light in his pocket. That evening, he came to an inn. He wanted to light his pipe, so he took out the blue light and used it. WHOOSH! Suddenly, a little man, no bigger than his thumb, appeared before him.
"What do you wish, master?" said the little man.
The soldier was astonished! "Um... some good food and a comfortable bed?" he stammered.
POOF! A wonderful meal appeared, and the innkeeper showed him to the best room.

The soldier realized the blue light was magical! He lived well for a while, but then he thought, "I'd like to see the king's daughter. They say she's very beautiful."
He lit the blue light. The little man appeared.
"Bring the princess here," the soldier commanded.
"That's risky," said the little man, "but okay."
In a flash, the little man returned, carrying the sleeping princess. She was even more beautiful than he'd imagined. The soldier just looked at her in awe. Before dawn, he told the little man to take her back.

The next morning, the princess told her father, the king, "I had such a strange dream! It felt like I was carried through the air."
The king was puzzled. The next night, he told an old lady-in-waiting to watch the princess. But the lady-in-waiting fell asleep. And again, the soldier had the princess brought to him.

The following day, the king had an idea. He told the princess to make a tiny hole in her pocket and fill it with peas. "If you are carried away, the peas will fall out and make a trail."
That night, as the little man carried the sleeping princess, peas did indeed drop out. But clever pigeons in the city saw the peas and ate every single one!
The next day, the king sent his men to find the trail, but there was none.

So the king said to the princess, "Tonight, take one of your shoes and hide it in the room where you go."
The soldier, when the princess was brought, didn't notice the missing shoe at first. But before sending her back, the little man spotted it. "Master, she's left a shoe!" The soldier told him to hide it well.

The king's men searched the city for the shoe. And they found it under the soldier's bed!
The soldier was arrested and thrown into prison. The king was furious and said he would be punished.
As he was being led out, the soldier said, "Your Majesty, grant me one last wish. Let me smoke my pipe one last time."
"Alright," said the king, thinking it a small thing.
The soldier took out his pipe and lit it with the blue light. WHOOSH! The little man appeared.
"What do you wish, master?"
"Save me!" cried the soldier. "And give these people who treated me unfairly a good scare!"
The little man zipped around, bopping the king and his guards on their heads with his tiny fists. They weren't badly hurt, but they were very surprised and scared, and they all begged for mercy.
The king, seeing how powerful the soldier's helper was, promised to give him half his kingdom and the princess's hand in marriage if he would just call off the little man.

The soldier agreed. He married the beautiful princess, and when the old king passed away, the soldier became king. He always kept the blue light safe, just in case he ever needed a little bit of magic again.

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