Imagine a forest so deep and shadowy that even the bravest hunters got a bit wobbly-kneed thinking about it. For a long, long time, any hunter who went into this forest just… vanished! Poof! Gone. The King was very puzzled.

One day, a fearless hunter, with a twinkle in his eye, said, "I'll go! I'm not scared of any spooky forest." He took his trusty dog, and into the woods they went. Soon, his dog started barking like mad near a murky, still pond. The hunter peered in, and what did he see? A wild man, covered in shaggy hair the color of rusty iron, staring back at him from the bottom of the water!

The hunter, being clever, called for help. Together, they managed to scoop the wild man out of the pond. They tied him up with strong ropes and took him back to the castle. The King was amazed! He ordered a strong iron cage to be built in the courtyard, and plunked the wild man, who everyone started calling Iron Hans, right inside. The King even hid the key to the cage under the Queen's pillow, just to be extra safe.

Now, the King had a young son, a prince, who was about eight years old. One day, the prince was playing with his favorite golden ball. Bounce, bounce, bounce… oops! The ball rolled right into Iron Hans's cage.

The prince peeked through the bars. "Mr. Wild Man," he said, "could I please have my ball back?"
Iron Hans grunted. "Only if you let me out."
"Oh, I can't do that!" said the prince. "My father would be very cross."
The next day, the prince tried again. "Please, Mr. Iron Hans?"
"Let me out," Iron Hans repeated.
On the third day, the prince was really missing his ball. "Okay," he whispered, "but how?"
"The key," said Iron Hans, "is under your mother's pillow."

The prince, feeling a bit naughty but very determined, tiptoed into his mother's room while she was napping. He carefully slid his hand under the pillow, found the cold metal key, and tiptoed out. He ran to the cage, his heart going thump-thump-thump. Click! The lock sprang open.

Iron Hans stepped out. He picked up the golden ball and gave it to the prince. "Thank you," he said. "But now you must come with me. If your father finds out you freed me, you'll be in big trouble."
The prince was scared. "Oh dear! Okay, I'll come."

Iron Hans took the prince on his shoulders and strode back into the deep, shadowy forest. They came to a special, magical well. The water inside sparkled like gold.
"This is my treasure," said Iron Hans. "You must sit here and guard it. Make sure nothing, absolutely nothing, falls into the water. I will test you three times."

The prince sat by the well. It was very quiet. Suddenly, his finger started to ache. He looked down, then dipped his finger into the cool, golden water to soothe it. Oh no! When he pulled it out, his fingertip was covered in gold! He tried to hide it, but Iron Hans knew. "You failed the first test," he said sternly.

The next day, the prince was extra careful. But as he leaned over to look at his reflection, a single strand of his long hair slipped from his head and floated down, down, down into the golden water. It came out shining like pure gold. "You failed the second test," said Iron Hans, his voice even sterner.

On the third day, the prince was determined not to fail. He sat very still. But the golden water looked so inviting, so shimmery. He just wanted to see his reflection properly. He leaned over a tiny bit too far, and splash! His whole head of long hair dipped into the well. When he sat up, all his hair was like spun gold.
Iron Hans sighed a big, rumbly sigh. "You have failed all three tests. You cannot stay with me. Go out into the world. You will know hardship. But if you are ever in great need, come to the edge of this forest and call out 'Iron Hans!' three times, and I will help you."

So, the poor prince, with his now-golden hair, had to leave. He wandered for a long time, feeling very sad and lonely. He tried to hide his amazing hair under a raggedy cap because it drew too much attention. Eventually, he came to another kingdom and got a job helping the royal gardener. He worked hard, sweeping paths and weeding flowerbeds.

One day, the princess of that kingdom was walking in the garden. She saw the gardener's boy with his cap. A little gust of wind blew, and for a second, his cap lifted, revealing a flash of brilliant gold. The princess was curious. She asked him to take off his cap, but he always made an excuse.

Sometime later, a big war started, and the kingdom was in danger. The prince, still working as a gardener's boy, longed to fight and help. He remembered Iron Hans's words. He ran to the edge of a nearby forest and shouted, "Iron Hans! Iron Hans! Iron Hans!"

In a flash, Iron Hans appeared! He wasn't shaggy anymore but looked quite grand. He gave the prince a magnificent black horse, a suit of shining armor, and a whole troop of iron-clad soldiers.
The prince, now a mysterious knight, rode into battle and fought so bravely that he helped the King win the war. But as soon as the fighting was over, he rode away quickly, not telling anyone who he was. Before he left, he threw three golden apples towards the princess.

The King was overjoyed about winning the war but very curious about the brave, unknown knight. The princess, who had caught the golden apples, was even more curious. The King announced a grand festival. "The knight who helped us must come!" he declared. "And to find him, I will have my daughter throw the golden apples. Whoever catches them is the hero!"

The prince, still in his gardener's disguise, wanted to go. He called for Iron Hans again. "Iron Hans! Iron Hans! Iron Hans!" And again, Iron Hans appeared, this time with even finer armor – one red, one white, and one black for three days of festival.
Each day, the prince, as the mysterious knight, rode into the festival, caught one of the golden apples the princess threw, and then rode off. On the third day, as he caught the last apple and turned to leave, his helmet slipped. His incredible golden hair tumbled down.

"It's him!" cried the princess. "The gardener's boy with the golden hair is the brave knight!"
Everyone was astonished. The King was delighted. The prince told his whole story, from the golden ball to Iron Hans and the magical well.

Of course, the prince and the princess decided to get married. It was the grandest wedding anyone had ever seen. And who do you think was an honored guest? Iron Hans! But he looked completely different. He was dressed like a powerful king, no longer wild at all.
He smiled at the prince. "My dear boy," he said, "I was an enchanted king. Your kindness in freeing me, and your bravery, even when you failed my tests, helped to break the spell. All the treasures of my forest, the horses, the armor – they were always yours. You have proven yourself worthy."

And so, the prince, who was now a king himself, and his beautiful princess, and their good friend King Iron Hans, all lived happily, with many more exciting adventures, for a very, very long time.

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