Imagine a prince, not one who just sat on a comfy throne, but one whose boots loved dusty roads! He decided one sunny morning, "I want to see the world!" So, off he went on an adventure.

One day, his travels took him deep into a whispery wood. It was quiet and a little spooky. There, he saw something sad: a poor horse that had fallen down and couldn't get up. Nearby, a big black bird, a raven, landed, looking for a snack. The prince was very clever. An idea popped into his head! He managed to catch the raven. Then, using a tiny bit of the raven (let's just call it its brave spirit!), he cleverly tricked twelve sneaky robbers who were hiding nearby. He stopped them from causing any more trouble in the woods. What a smart prince!

He journeyed on and finally reached a grand city with a tall, shiny castle. Everyone in the city was talking about the princess who lived there.

This princess was known far and wide. She was very beautiful and very, very proud. She also loved riddles! She had made a special rule: "Anyone who wants to marry me must answer my riddle," she declared. "If you answer correctly, we'll get married! But if you guess wrong... well, you'll have to pack your bags and leave the city immediately!" Many princes and brave knights had tried, but the riddle was just too tricky.

Our adventurous prince heard about this. "A riddle?" he thought, his eyes sparkling. "I love a good puzzle!" So, up he went to the castle, ready for the challenge.

The princess sat on her fancy chair, looking quite sure of herself. She looked at the prince and asked her super-tricky riddle: "Tell me, what is it where one killed none, and yet, twelve were stopped?"

The prince didn't even hesitate. He smiled. "I know that one!" he said cheerfully. And he told her the whole story: about the poor horse in the woods, the raven, and how he used its brave spirit to cleverly stop the twelve sneaky robbers without hurting anyone himself.

The princess's jaw dropped. Her eyes went wide. "How... how did you know?" she whispered. She couldn't believe someone had finally solved it! She felt a bit flustered. "Alright," she said, trying to sound calm, "you answered the riddle. But... I need to think."

That night, the princess couldn't sleep. "How did he figure it out?" she wondered. "I must know his secret!" So, she decided to be a little sneaky herself. She sent her quietest, most careful maid to tiptoe into the prince's room while he was sleeping and listen for any clues.

But the prince was cleverer than she thought! He guessed she might try something like that. He wasn't really fast asleep. He had piled some big, fluffy blankets on his bed to look just like him sleeping. He hid behind a curtain. When the maid crept in, silent as a mouse, the prince suddenly made a funny, low sound from his hiding spot: "Rumble-grumble-snore!" The maid got such a fright! She gasped and scurried out of the room faster than you can say "Boo!"

The next night, the princess was determined. "That first maid was too easily scared," she thought. "I'll send my other maid; she's braver." So, the second maid tiptoed into the prince's room. But the prince was ready again! This time, as the maid leaned close to the blanket pile, he made a different silly noise, maybe like a little owl: "Hoo-hoo-Hoooo!" Zip! The second maid jumped nearly to the ceiling and ran away even faster than the first one!

On the third night, the princess stamped her foot. "Useless!" she muttered. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!" So, very late, when the whole castle was quiet, the princess herself crept towards the prince's room, quiet as a shadow. She pushed the door open just a tiny crack and peeked inside.

But the prince was wide awake, waiting! He popped out from behind the door. "Looking for something, Princess?" he asked, with a friendly smile and a twinkle in his eye.

The princess turned bright red! She knew she'd been caught trying to peek and find out his secrets unfairly. She didn't know what to say.

The prince spoke kindly. "You asked a riddle, Princess, and I gave the right answer. We made an agreement, remember?"

The princess looked at the clever, adventurous prince. He wasn't just smart; he was kind, too. Maybe, she thought, marrying someone this interesting wouldn't be so bad after all. Perhaps it would be a new adventure!

And so, they had a wonderful, happy wedding. The prince who loved exploring found his greatest adventure right there in the castle, and the proud princess learned that being clever was good, but being fair and kind was even better.

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