One sunny afternoon, by the sparkling sea, a young drummer was taking a walk. He loved playing his drum: rat-a-tat-tat! As he strolled, he spotted something white and shiny on the sand. It was a piece of very fine, soft, white cloth. "Hmm, this is pretty," he thought, and tucked it into his pocket.

That night, he put the cloth under his pillow, just because. And guess what? When he woke up, a beautiful princess stood before him! She shimmered like moonlight. "Thank you for finding my linen," she said. "I am a princess under a spell. If you want to free me, you must go to the Glass Mountain." The drummer, who was brave and kind, immediately said, "I'll help you!"

So, the drummer set off. His journey was long. Soon, he came across three giants arguing loudly. "This stick is mine!" boomed one. "It can open any door!"
"No, this cloak is better!" rumbled another. "Wear it, and you're invisible!"
"Pah! My horse is the best!" thundered the third. "It can climb anything, even a slippery glass mountain!"

The drummer, being clever, said, "How can I know these things are so good unless I try them?" The giants, eager to show off, let him. He tapped a nearby rock with the stick – a little door appeared! He threw the cloak over his shoulders – poof, he vanished! Then he hopped on the horse. "Giddy-up!" he cried, and before the giants could blink, he and the horse – whoosh! – galloped away with the stick and the cloak too!

The amazing horse climbed and climbed, right up the shiny, slippery Glass Mountain. At the very top stood a gloomy castle. An old woman with a very, very long nose and a grumpy face guarded the gate. This must be the enchantress!

The drummer, invisible under his cloak, tiptoed past her. He tapped the big castle door with his stick. Click! It swung open. Inside, he saw his princess! But oh dear, the old woman was making her scrub floors and carry heavy buckets of water. The princess looked so sad.

The drummer felt a bit mischievous. When the old woman made soup, he sneakily, invisibly, dropped a warty toad into her bowl! Splosh!
"Yuck! What's this?!" shrieked the old woman, fishing out the toad. She looked around, but saw no one.
Later, when she was stirring her stew, the drummer, still invisible, slipped a wiggly snake into the pot! Hiss!
"Aaaah! A snake!" she screamed, even angrier.
The princess saw these things happening and guessed her drummer was near. She gave a tiny, secret smile.

That night, when the old woman was snoring loudly (a sound like a grumpy bear!), the drummer took off his cloak. "I'm here!" he whispered to the princess. They were so happy to see each other! The princess told him, "To break the spell completely, you must get a special egg from a griffin's nest, high on that cliff."

So, the drummer hopped back on his magic horse. Up, up, up it climbed the steep cliff to the griffin's nest. He carefully took one shiny egg.
When they tried to leave the castle, the old woman woke up! "You won't escape!" she cackled, lunging for them.
But the drummer was quick! He threw the magic egg right at her. CRACK! The old woman vanished in a puff of smoke, and the gloomy castle disappeared too!

"Hooray!" shouted the drummer. The princess was free! They rode the magic horse down the mountain.
"I must go home first," said the drummer, "to tell my parents I'm safe and that I'm bringing home a princess!"
The princess smiled but warned him, "Be very careful. When you get home, don't let anyone kiss you on your right cheek, or you will forget all about me and everything that happened."

The drummer promised he'd be careful. But when he arrived home, his mother was so overjoyed to see him, she rushed up and gave him a big hug and a loving kiss... right on his right cheek!
Oh no! In that instant, the drummer forgot all about the beautiful princess, the Glass Mountain, the giants, and the magic egg. He just felt happy to be home.

The poor princess waited and waited by the forest near his village. When he didn't return, she felt so sad. Using a little bit of her own magic, she built a tiny, shining golden hut in the woods and lived there, hoping he might one day remember.

Time passed. The drummer, having forgotten his adventure, was planning to marry another girl from his village.
The princess heard about the wedding. On the first day of the wedding celebrations, she sent a beautiful golden dress to the bride-to-be. Her messenger said, "The lady who sends this only asks to sleep outside the drummer's bedroom door tonight."
The bride, delighted with the dress, agreed. That night, the princess sat outside his door and sang softly, "Drummer, drummer, my dear love, have you forgotten me so soon? The Glass Mountain, the witch so gruff, the magic egg beneath the moon?"
But the drummer's servants had given him a sleepy drink, and he heard nothing.

The next day, the princess sent an even more splendid golden cloak. Again, she asked only to sleep by his door. Again, she sang her sad song. And again, the sleepy drink made the drummer snore right through it.

On the third day, she sent tiny, sparkling golden shoes. This time, the drummer told his servants, "Tonight, don't give me any sleepy drinks! I want to stay awake."
That night, when the princess sang her song again, "Drummer, drummer, my dear love..." the drummer heard it!
Suddenly, like a flash of light, everything came rushing back to him! The linen cloth, the princess, the Glass Mountain, the giants, the witch, his promise!
He leaped out of bed, flung open the door, and there she was, his true princess!
"I remember!" he cried, hugging her tightly. "I remember everything!"
He told everyone this was his real bride, the princess he had rescued. They had a magnificent wedding, and this time, they both remembered everything perfectly. And they lived happily ever after, with the joyful rat-a-tat-tat of his drum often filling their happy home.

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