, who asked
the cause of their grief, and they told him their Father was so ill that
he must die, for nothing could save him. The old Man said, "I know a
means of saving him: if he drinks of the water of life it will restore
him to health; but it is very difficult to find."

"I will soon find it," said the eldest Son, and, going to the sick King,
he begged his permission to set out in search of the water of life,
which alone could save him. "No; the danger is too great," said the
King; "I prefer to die." Nevertheless, the Son begged and entreated so
long that the King consented, and the Prince went away, thinking in his
own heart, "If I bring this water I am the dearest to my Father, and I
shall inherit his kingdom."

After he had ridden a long way he met a Dwarf on the road, who asked
him, "Whither away so quickly?"

"You stupid dandyprat," replied the Prince proudly, "why should I tell
you that?" and he rode off. But the little Man was angry and he wished
an evil thing, so that, soon after, the Prince came into a narrow
mountain-pass, and the farther he rode the narrower it grew, till at
last it was so close that he could get no farther; but neither could he
turn his horse round, nor dismount, and he sat there like one amazed.
Meanwhile the sick King waited a long while for him, but he did not
come; and the second Son asked leave to go too and seek the water, for
he thought to himself, "If my Brother is dead the kingdom comes to me."
At first the King refused to spare him, but he gave way, and the Prince
set out on the same road as the elder one had taken, and met also the
same Dwarf, who stopped him and asked him, "Whither ride you so
hastily?" "Little dandyprat," replied the Prince, "what do you want to
know for?" and he rode off without looking round. The Dwarf, however,
enchanted him, and it happened to him as it had to his Brother: he came
to a defile where he could move neither forward nor backward. Such is
the fate of all haughty people.

Now, when the second Son did not return, the youngest begged leave to go
and fetch the water, and the King was obliged at last to give his
consent. When he met the Dwarf, and was asked whither he was going so
hurriedly, he stopped and replied, "I seek the water of life, for my
Father is sick unto death." "Do you know where to find it?" asked the
Dwarf. "No," replied the Prince. "Since you have behaved yourself as you
ought," said the Dwarf, "and not haughtily like your fal