Longshanks, Girth, and Keen

Longshanks, Girth, and Keen

Once upon a time there lived an old king, and he had an only son.

One day the king called the prince and said:

“My son, I am not young anymore. I would like to know that you will not be lonely and that you will have someone by your side with whom you will want to share your life. But it is up to you to choose, not me.”

The prince thought for a moment.

“I would be glad to meet such a person, father, but I do not know anyone yet.”

The king took a golden key from his pocket.

“Then go up to the very top of the old tower. There is a room there that you have not seen yet. See what it will show you.”

The prince took the key and went up.

The stairs wound higher and higher until he reached a little iron door. The golden key turned in its lock, the door swung open, and he entered a round hall.

Its ceiling was blue and silver, like the night sky. A green carpet lay beneath his feet, and twelve tall windows gleamed around him in golden frames.

On each window was a picture of a young princess.

But the pictures turned out to be magical. As soon as the prince approached closer, the girls on the glass seemed to come to life: they smiled, turned their heads, raised their hands in greeting.

Eleven windows were open to view. The twelfth was covered by a white curtain.

The prince hesitated, but curiosity won out. He pushed back the fabric.

Behind the curtain was a girl dressed in white, with a silver belt and a pearl crown. Unlike the others, she did not smile. Her face was very sad.

The prince looked at her for a long time.

“I do not know who you are,” he said quietly, “but it seems that you need help.”

The girl on the glass nodded faintly.

And at that moment all twelve images disappeared.

The prince hurried to his father and told him what had happened.

The king turned pale.

“I should never have sent you there,” he said. “That girl is in the Iron Castle, held captive by a sorcerer. Many brave people have tried to reach her, but none has returned.”

The prince was silent.

“Then I will go anyway. Not because of the picture or the crown. I just know now that she is there alone.”

The king hugged his son.

“So be careful. And remember: even the bravest person is not obliged to do everything alone.”

These words turned out to be very important.

The prince mounted his horse and set off.

On his first day, the prince lost his way in a thick forest. The paths twisted and crossed, the sun vanished behind the treetops, and he no longer knew which way to ride.

Suddenly someone shouted from behind:

“Hey, wait!”

A tall, thin man ran towards him.

“Take me with you,” said the stranger. “I may be useful.”

“What is your name?”

“Longshanks. I can stretch myself taller.”

“How tall?”

Longshanks smiled.

“Do you see the nest at the top of that pine tree?”

He stood upright and began to grow.

Above the bushes.

Above the young trees.

Above the tallest pine tree.

He reached the nest with his hand, gently set a loose twig back in place, and shrank to his ordinary height.

“Impressive,” said the prince. “But what I need most is a way out of this forest.”

“That’s even easier.”

Longshanks stretched so high that his head almost touched the clouds.

“I see the way out! Over there.”

Soon they came out onto a wide plain.

Gray rocks could be seen in the distance, and even further away — mountains.

Longshanks squinted.

“There goes my friend. He will be useful too.”

“Call him.”

“He’s too far away to hear.”

Longshanks took two huge steps, reached the horizon and returned with a round, strong man on his shoulder.

“This is Girth,” he said, introducing his friend.

“What can you do?” asked the prince.

“Grow wider,” answered Girth.

“Will you show me?”

“I will show you. Just move away.”

The prince and Longshanks hurried back to the forest.

Girth drew a deep breath and began to swell.

A little more.

More.

More.

Soon he was as big as a hill and filled almost the whole plain.

Then he breathed out and shrank again.

“It’s better not to argue with you in a small room,” the prince laughed. “Let’s go together.”

Near the gray rocks they met a third man. He had a blindfold on his eyes.

“And this is Keen,” said Longshanks.

“If you’re called Keen, why cover your eyes?” asked the prince in surprise.

“Without my blindfold, I see too well,” he replied. “Through trees, walls, and stones. If I stare too hard, I can shatter a rock.”

He took off his blindfold for a moment and looked at the great rock.

The rock cracked and crumbled into sand, revealing a gleam of gold inside.

Keen immediately blindfolded himself.

“It’s better to use this carefully,” he said.

The prince nodded.

“I like your approach. Tell me, do you see the Iron Castle?”

Keen turned his head.

“I do. On your own, it would take you a very long time to reach it. With us, you’ll be there by evening.”

“And the girl?”

“In a high tower. The sorcerer guards her.”

“Will you help me?”

All three answered together:

“We will help.”

The prince learned his first lesson about great deeds: sometimes a hero’s greatest strength is knowing when to accept help.

Longshanks found the shortest paths.

Girth pushed aside heavy obstacles.

Keen saw the path through the rocks.

By sunset they reached the Iron Castle.

It stood in the midst of a deathly still land. There were no leaves on the trees. The river was still. Stone horses stood frozen in the courtyard, and stone knights and servants in the rooms.

It seemed as if someone had stopped time itself here.

Supper already awaited the four travelers in the great hall.

“That’s strange,” whispered the prince.

“They were waiting for us here,” answered Keen.

As soon as they had eaten, the door flew open.

A sorcerer entered in a long black robe. Around his waist were three iron hoops.

The girl from the magical window walked beside him.

She was pale and silent.

“I know why you have come,” said the sorcerer. “You want to free her. Well, try.”

He set a condition:

"She will remain here for three nights. If you can bring her back every morning, my spell will lose its power. If not, you too will remain motionless in this castle, like everyone else."

The sorcerer left.

The prince turned to the girl:

“I don’t know your name. But we haven’t come to order you about or decide for you. We want to help you leave this place.”

The girl didn’t answer. The spell didn’t allow her to speak.

The first night came.

Longshanks stretched out along the walls.

Girth sat down in the doorway so tightly that no one could pass.

Keen stood by the column.

The prince sat next to the girl.

But a sleeping spell hung over the castle.

One by one, everyone’s eyes closed.

In the morning, the prince woke up and saw that the girl was gone.

“Keen!”

He looked out the window.

“I see her. A hundred miles away, in a forest, stands an old oak. There’s an acorn on it. The sorcerer has hidden her inside that acorn.”

“Longshanks, come with me,” said Keen.

Keen sat on his friend’s shoulder.

Longshanks took a few giant steps, and soon they were near the oak tree.

Keen pointed out the right acorn.

In a minute the friends returned.

“Put it on the floor,” said Keen.

The prince put the acorn down.

A light flashed, and the girl stood before them again.

At that moment the sun rose.

The sorcerer entered, saw her, and frowned.

Crack!

One of the iron hoops on his belt snapped.

The second night was even harder.

Everyone tried not to fall asleep: they walked, talked, and washed themselves with cold water.

But the spell was stronger.

In the morning the girl disappeared again.

Keen stared into the distance for a long time.

“Two hundred miles away is a mountain, with a rock inside it. A jewel lies within the rock. That’s where she is.”

Longshanks took Keen and rushed forward.

When they reached the mountain, Keen carefully took off his blindfold.

His gaze pierced the stone. The rock crumbled, and inside shone a precious stone.

The friends brought the jewel back to the castle.

As soon as it touched the floor, the girl stood before them once more.

The sorcerer entered.

Crack!

The second hoop flew apart.

Only the third night remained.

“Tonight he’ll hide her farther away,” said Keen.

“Then we must be cleverer still,” replied the prince.

But the enchanted sleep overcame them again.

At dawn the girl was not there.

Keen looked for a long time.

Finally he said:

“Far, far away lies a black sea. A shell rests on its bed, and inside the shell is a golden ring. The girl has been turned into that ring.”

“This time we all must go,” said Longshanks.

He placed Keen on one shoulder, Girth on the other and set off.

A step.

Another step.

The mountains were left behind.

Soon the black sea stretched out before them.

Keen pointed to the place.

Longshanks stretched his hand into the water, but he did not reach the bottom.

“Now it’s my turn,” said Girth.

He expanded, became very large, and began to absorb water like a giant sponge.

The sea level dropped.

“A little more!” cried Keen.

Longshanks reached deeper and felt the shell.

Inside lay a golden ring.

“Got it!”

But there was almost no time left.

Longshanks hurried back, but Girth was full of seawater and terribly heavy.

“We’ll never make it in time!” said Longshanks.

“Then let me release the water,” answered Girth.

They stopped over a wide empty valley. Girth exhaled, the water poured out there and formed a new lake.

“Ducks will come here one day,” he said contentedly.

And the friends rushed on.

Dawn was breaking at the castle.

The sorcerer appeared in the doorway and smiled.

“This time you’ve lost.”

But at that very moment, Keen saw the danger from afar.

“Longshanks! Throw it!”

Longshanks swung and threw the golden ring through the open window.

Ting!

The ring fell to the floor.

The girl appeared in a flash of light.

The third iron hoop on the sorcerer’s belt cracked.

Crack!

The sorcerer spun in a black whirlwind, turned into a raven, and flew out the broken window.

His spell was over.

The girl took a deep breath.

“Finally, I can speak,” she said.

The prince smiled.

“What is your name?”

She gave her name and thanked all four.

And at that moment, the entire castle came to life.

The stone knight lowered his sword.

The servant, who had been frozen with dinner in his hand, finally brought his spoon to his mouth.

The horses neighed.

Outside the windows, leaves on the trees unfurled.

The river ran again.

Flowers bloomed in the meadows.

A lark sang in the sky.

Everyone the sorcerer had held in stone sleep gathered in the hall.

“Thank you, prince!” they said.

But the prince shook his head.

“Thank all of us. Without Longshanks, Girth, and Keen, I would never have reached this place at all.”

The girl added:

“And if you hadn’t each used your gifts to help others, the castle would still be enchanted.”

When it was time to return, she herself decided to go with them to see the prince’s kingdom and get to know his family.

The old king, who had already lost hope of seeing his son, met them with tears of joy.

In time, the prince and the freed princess decided to marry. The wedding was merry and lasted a long while, but it was neither the food nor the music that people remembered best.

They remembered the three strange friends.

After the celebrations, Longshanks, Girth, and Keen prepared to leave.

“Stay,” begged the prince. “You shall have anything you wish.”

Longshanks laughed.

“And why should we sit idle?”

Girth patted his stomach.

“There are so many places I haven’t seen yet.”

Keen adjusted his blindfold.

“And somewhere, someone is sure to need our help.”

They said goodbye and went on their way.

They say they are still traveling somewhere in the world.

One can see further than anyone else.

The other can reach where no one else can.

The third can grow larger than whatever blocks the way.

Yet their greatest strength lies elsewhere:

three very different people have learned to work together.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨