The Three Golden Hairs

The Three Golden Hairs

Once upon a time in a distant kingdom there lived a king who loved everything to go according to his plan. He made a hunting schedule, ordered when to open the city gates, and even got angry if the rain did not start on the day he wanted.

One day the king got lost while hunting. By evening he found himself near a small charcoal burner's hut and asked to spend the night.

That night, a son was born to the charcoal burner.

When the household had fallen asleep, the king heard soft voices. Three mysterious women in pale cloaks stood beside the cradle. In old Czech tradition, they were foretellers of destiny.

The first said:

“The boy’s early life will be difficult, but he will come safely through its dangers.”

The second added:

“Water will not become his enemy, roads will lead to good people, and courage will help where strength is powerless.”

The third said:

“And when he grows up, fate will bring him to the royal palace, and he and the royal daughter will love each other.”

The king sat up in bed.

“What? The son of a simple charcoal burner will become close to my family? No. I decide what will happen!”

In the morning he offered the boy’s father money and promised to take care of the child. The charcoal burner, who was struggling to feed his family, believed the king’s words.

But the king did not intend to raise the boy at court. He ordered the servant to take the baby far away and make sure that he never returned.

The servant was kind and could not harm the child. He lined a sturdy basket with a blanket, laid the baby inside, and gently set it afloat on the quiet river, knowing that fishermen’s cottages stood downstream.

The basket floated for a long time among the reeds until the old fisherman noticed it.

“Come and look!” he called to his wife. “See what the river has brought us!”

The fisherman and his wife had no children. They took the boy in and named him Plavacek, meaning one who had come floating on the water.

Years passed. Plavacek grew up to be a cheerful, hardworking and inquisitive young man. He knew how to repair boats, find a path in the fog and never passed by a person who needed help.

One day the king was in that area again. He saw the young man by the river and asked:

“Who are you?”

“Plavacek, the son of a fisherman,” he replied.

The king asked how old he was and how he had come to live with the fisherman. He realized this was the baby from the prophecy long ago.

The king was worried.

“Boy,” he said, “take the letter to the palace. If you do it quickly, you will receive a reward.”

Plavacek agreed.

His letter commanded that the young man be turned away from court and sent so far off that he could never return.

The road was long. That evening, Plavacek stopped at an old woman’s house. She fed him, gave him a place beside the stove, and asked where he was heading.

“To the royal palace. I am carrying the letter.”

Once he was asleep, she noticed the royal seal. She was one of the three women who had foretold his destiny beside the cradle.

She read the letter and shook her head.

“A person may be afraid of fate, but fear does not give him the right to harm others.”

The old woman wrote a new letter:

“Accept this young man as a dear guest. Let him get to know the princess. Then they will decide for themselves whether they want to be friends and whether their friendship will become something more.”

Plavacek knew nothing of the changed letter when he continued his journey in the morning.

The palace welcomed him warmly. The princess was a bright young woman who loved horses, books, and long walks in the garden.

Plavacek told her about the river, fishing nets and life in a small village. She told him about the palace, about her duties, and how tired she sometimes got when people tried to decide everything in the world for her.

Time passed, and they really fell in love with each other.

When the king returned and saw Plavacek next to his daughter, he could hardly contain his indignation.

“This cannot be!”

“Why?” the princess asked calmly. “Because you didn’t plan this?”

The king realized that a simple order would no longer change anything. Then he came up with an almost impossible task.

“Very well, Plavacek. If you wish to prove yourself worthy of your choice, bring me three golden hairs from Grandfather Know-All, who sees the whole world.”

Plavacek could have refused. But he became curious.

“I will go,” he said. “Not because I have to prove my worth to anyone. But because I want to see where this road leads.”

The princess smiled.

“Then come back. That is my only request.”

Plavacek set off.

A few days later he reached a town where everyone was sad.

“What has happened?” he asked.

“We had an apple tree whose fruit restored people’s strength,” they answered. “It hasn’t borne fruit for years. If you’re going to Grandfather Know-All, please ask him why.”

“I will,” promised Plavacek.

Then he came to another town. There was a stone fountain in the middle of the square, but not a single drop fell from it.

“Healing water once flowed from this spring,” said the people. “Now it’s dry. Please ask why.”

“I will ask.”

Finally, Plavacek reached a wide black river. Day and night, the ferryman transported people from one bank to the other.

“I’ve held this oar for years,” he sighed. “I can never leave the ferry. If you meet Know-All, please ask him how I can be free.”

“I promise.”

A strange country began beyond the river. In the morning it was quiet, at noon everything shone, and in the evening the sky turned golden.

At the edge of the world stood a golden palace.

Plavacek knocked.

An old woman with kind, very attentive eyes opened the door.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Grandfather Know-All. I need three of his golden hairs, and also the answers to three questions.”

The woman laughed.

“You’ve come to the Sun himself. Every morning he goes out young and strong, travels across the sky all day, and returns old and tired at night. After such a journey, he dislikes unexpected guests. Hide behind the curtain, and I’ll try to help.”

Towards evening the palace was filled with golden light. Grandfather Know-All entered. His hair shone, but he himself could hardly keep his eyes open.

“Mother, I’m so tired,” he said. “Today I saw mountains, seas, towns, forests, and a thousand roads.”

He ate and fell asleep.

His mother gently took a golden hair. It came away easily, like a ray of sunlight.

Grandfather woke up.

“What happened?”

“I had a strange dream,” said his mother. “In one town there’s an apple tree that once gave fruit to restore people’s strength. Now it bears nothing. Why?”

Grandfather yawned.

“A great snake has settled by its roots, blocking their water supply. Let the people gently lure it into the forest, where it can live without troubling anyone. Then they must loosen the soil and water the roots. The tree will recover.”

He fell asleep.

His mother took a second golden hair.

“Another dream?” muttered Grandfather.

“Yes. I saw a city where a healing spring had dried up.”

“A large frog sits under a stone at the source, blocking a narrow channel. Move it gently to a pond and clear the channel. The water will return.”

Grandfather fell asleep again.

His mother took a third hair.

“And what did you dream about now?”

“A ferryman who cannot leave the crossing.”

Grandfather smiled in his sleep.

“He must stop believing that only he can hold the oar. Let him teach a willing helper to steer the boat and take a turn, then go ashore. A duty need not be a prison.”

At this, Grandfather Know-All fell asleep soundly until morning.

When the dawn broke, he became the young Sun again and set off into the sky.

His mother called to Plavacek and gave him three golden hairs.

“Take them. And remember the answers.”

“Thank you,” said Plavacek. “I won’t forget.”

On the way back, Plavacek passed on the advice to the ferryman. The man found a young assistant, taught him to steer the boat, and for the first time in many years spent an entire evening on the shore without an oar in his hands.

In the town with the dried-up spring, the people lifted the stone, moved the frog carefully to a quiet pond, and cleared the narrow channel. Water gushed so loudly that children ran laughing through the square, holding their hands beneath the spray.

In the town with the apple tree, the gardeners lured the snake into the forest, where there was plenty of room for it, and then loosened the soil around the roots. In the spring the tree was covered with flowers, and in the fall the first golden apples appeared on it.

The grateful townspeople gave Plavacek fine horses, bags of coins, and supplies for the road. He accepted only what he could put to good use, asking them to keep the rest for people who truly needed help.

Finally, Plavacek returned to the palace.

The princess ran out to meet him.

“You’re back!”

“As promised.”

He placed three golden hairs in front of the king.

The king could not believe his eyes.

“Where did you get the horses? And the gifts?”

Plavacek told him about the two towns, the spring, the apple tree, and the ferry.

The king’s eyes immediately lit up.

“If the boy brought so much, then there must be even more to be found there!”

He himself set off along that road.

Having reached the black river, the king began to ask where Plavacek had gotten his wealth.

The ferryman replied:

“I can show you the way. But first, help me with the ferry. Everyone who uses a road should do a little to help others along it.”

Reluctantly, the king took the oar. At first he was angry: the work was harder than it looked from the bank. Day after day, though, he carried old people, children, merchants, and travelers across the river. Listening to their stories, he began to understand life beyond his palace.

After a few weeks the ferryman said:

“That will do. You may go now.”

The king returned home completely different. He no longer said that he could control fate. And he did not try to decide for his daughter.

In time, Plavacek and the princess married because they both wished to. The three golden hairs were kept in a little box in the library rather than in the treasury.

Next to it lay a note:

“The greatest wisdom is not in knowing everything in advance. It is in listening, helping and not being afraid to change.”

They say that after that, even the king stopped getting angry with the rain,

for he understood that the whole world need not follow his plans.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨