One sunny morning, a tiny baby boy was born, and guess what? He had a little lucky cap on his head! Everyone said, "Oh, this boy will be very lucky! He'll even marry the King's daughter!"

Now, the King heard this, and he was not a happy king. "My daughter marry a poor boy? Never!" he grumbled. So, he sneakily took the baby, put him in a little box, and set it floating down the river. "That's the end of that!" he thought.

But the box didn't sink! It floated along until it reached a miller's house. The kind miller and his wife found the baby. "A gift from the river!" they cried, and they raised him with love.

Years passed, and the boy grew tall and kind. One day, the King, traveling through the land, saw the handsome young man. He asked the millers about him and, oh dear, realized it was the same boy! The King, still grumpy, thought of another plan. He gave the young man a letter and said, "Take this to the Queen. It's very important."

The letter actually said, "Dear Queen, as soon as this boy arrives, please have him chopped into tiny pieces. Love, the King."

On his way, the young man got lost in a dark forest and found a little hut. "Can I stay the night?" he asked the old woman inside. She agreed, but warned him, "This is a robbers' den! Be careful." While he slept, the robbers came home. They read the King's nasty letter. "Poor fellow!" said one robber, who was surprisingly soft-hearted for a robber. "Let's change it!" So, they wrote a new letter: "Dear Queen, as soon as this boy arrives, please have him marry our daughter, the Princess. Love, the King."

When the Queen read this, she was surprised but did as she was told. The young man and the Princess were married, and they liked each other very much!

The King returned and was furious! "You were supposed to be chopped, not married!" he roared. "If you want to stay married to my daughter," he schemed, "you must go to the Devil's house and bring me back three of his golden hairs!" He thought this was an impossible task.

The brave young man set off. On his journey, he came to a town where the fountain in the square was dry. "Oh, traveler," they asked, "can you find out why our fountain gives no water?"
"I'll try to ask the Devil," he promised.

Next, he came to another town where a beautiful apple tree stood, but it bore no fruit. "Kind sir," they begged, "can you discover why our wonderful apple tree gives no apples?"
"I'll try to ask the Devil," he said again.

Finally, he reached a wide river. A ferryman was there, looking very tired. "Young man," sighed the ferryman, "can you ask the Devil why I must always row back and forth and never be free?"
"I will certainly try," replied the young man.

The ferryman rowed him across to the other side, where the Devil's fiery, smoky house stood. Luckily, the Devil wasn't home, but his grandmother was! She was a surprisingly kind old lady. "Oh, you poor boy," she said when he told her his story. "The Devil will eat you if he finds you! But I'll help. I can turn you into an ant. Hide in the folds of my skirt."

Soon, the Devil stomped in. "Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell a human!" he roared.
"Nonsense, dear," said his grandmother. "You're just hungry. Sit down for dinner."
After dinner, the Devil felt sleepy and laid his head on his grandmother's lap. As he snored, she gently plucked one golden hair. "Ouch!" yelled the Devil. "What was that?"
"Oh, just a bad dream, dear," she said. "I dreamt of a town whose fountain was dry. Why would that be?"
"Silly! There's a toad sitting on a stone under the spring. If they move it, water will flow," mumbled the Devil, falling back asleep.

A little later, she plucked another golden hair. "Owww!" he cried.
"Another bad dream, my pet," she cooed. "I dreamt of an apple tree that bore no fruit."
"Hmph! A mouse is gnawing at its root. If they chase it away, it'll bear golden apples," he grumbled, and dozed off.

One last time, she plucked the third golden hair. "OUCH! Stop that!" he bellowed.
"Just one more dream, sweetie," she said. "I dreamt of a ferryman who always had to row and could never be free."
"Foolish ferryman!" scoffed the Devil. "The next person who wants to cross, he just needs to hand them the oar, and they'll have to take over!" With that, he fell into a deep sleep.

The grandmother changed the ant back into the young man, gave him the three golden hairs, and wished him luck.

He hurried back to the ferryman. "To be free," he said, "the next person who wants to cross, just hand them your oar!"
The ferryman was overjoyed and gave him lots of gold.
Then he went to the town with the apple tree. "A mouse is gnawing at its root!" he told them. They chased the mouse away, and the tree instantly blossomed with golden apples! They gave him two donkeys laden with gold.
Finally, he reached the town with the dry fountain. "There's a toad under a stone in the spring!" he announced. They moved the toad, and sparkling water gushed out! They gave him even more gold.

He returned to the King, rich and successful, with the three golden hairs. The King was amazed but also very greedy when he saw all the gold. "Where did you get all that treasure?" he demanded.
"Oh, across the river," said the young man. "There's gold just lying on the shore."

The greedy King rushed to the river and called for the ferryman. "Take me across quickly!" he ordered. As they reached the other side, the ferryman quickly handed the King the oar. And so, the greedy King had to row, and row, and row, and for all we know, he's still rowing to this very day!

The young man and the Princess lived happily ever after, and he was known as the luckiest and kindest prince in the land.

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