The Riddle

Once upon a time, there was a young prince who had grown restless in his father’s kingdom. His heart yearned for adventure, so he decided to journey through the world to seek new experiences and challenges.

“Father,” he said to the king, “I wish to travel beyond our borders to see the wonders of distant lands.”

Though reluctant to part with his son, the king understood the young man’s desire. “Go then, my son,” he said, “but promise me you will be careful, for the world holds many dangers alongside its wonders.”

The prince set off with only his faithful servant. They rode through forests and over mountains, crossing rivers and valleys. One day, as they approached a dark forest, the servant said, “We should be cautious, Your Highness. I’ve heard stories of an enchantress who dwells in these woods.”

“Fear not,” replied the prince confidently. “Adventure comes to those who seek it.”

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the air grew thick and the trees loomed ominously overhead. Suddenly, they came upon a small cottage nestled among ancient oaks. At the door stood an elderly woman with piercing eyes.

“Welcome, young travelers,” she called to them with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “The day grows late. Won’t you stay and rest under my roof tonight?”

The prince, though wary, accepted her invitation. Inside, the old woman served them a hearty meal, and after they had eaten, she showed them to their beds. The prince fell into a deep sleep almost immediately, but his loyal servant remained suspicious and only pretended to sleep.

In the middle of the night, the servant watched as the old woman transformed into a witch with a hunched back and crooked fingers. She leaned over the sleeping prince and whispered strange incantations, casting a spell that would lead him to his doom the next day.

When morning came, the witch, once again appearing as a kindly old woman, bid them farewell. “Follow the path to the east,” she instructed. “It leads to a magnificent castle where a princess awaits. But beware—she presents all her suitors with a riddle. If they cannot solve it, they forfeit their lives.”

The prince, enchanted by the witch’s spell, felt an irresistible urge to seek out this princess. Despite his servant’s warnings, they set off toward the castle.

“Your Highness,” pleaded the servant, “I fear the old woman was a witch who has cast a spell on you. The princess may be part of her scheme to bring about your demise.”

“Nonsense,” replied the prince, his eyes glazed with enchantment. “I must meet this princess. If it’s riddles she wants, I shall provide answers.”

As they approached the castle, they noticed it was surrounded by a moat filled not with water, but with human bones. The servant grew more alarmed, but the prince pressed forward, compelled by the witch’s magic.

At the castle gates, they were greeted by guards who led them to the throne room. There sat the most beautiful princess the prince had ever seen. Her beauty was almost otherworldly, with raven hair cascading down her back and eyes as deep and mysterious as the night sky.

“Welcome, Prince,” she said in a melodious voice. “I am told you seek my hand in marriage. But first, you must solve my riddle. Those who fail pay with their lives, as many before you have done.”

The prince bowed. “I accept your challenge, Princess.”

The princess smiled enigmatically and spoke: “What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?”

The prince pondered the riddle, but his mind felt clouded. The witch’s spell had muddled his thoughts, making it difficult for him to think clearly.

His loyal servant, seeing his master’s struggle, whispered urgently, “Your Highness, the answer is man! A human crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a cane as a third leg in old age.”

The prince, hearing his servant’s words, repeated the answer to the princess. “The creature is man. As a babe, he crawls on four limbs; in adulthood, he walks upright on two legs; and in his twilight years, he relies on a staff, making three points of contact with the ground.”

The princess’s face darkened with anger, for she had expected him to fail. “You have answered correctly,” she admitted reluctantly. “But I have one more challenge for you. Spend the night in thought, and come to me tomorrow with a riddle of your own. If I cannot solve it, I shall become your wife. But if I solve it, your life is forfeit.”

That night, the servant, determined to save his master, crept out of the castle and into the surrounding forest. There, he witnessed something extraordinary: the princess met with the witch from the cottage.

“Mother,” said the princess, “the prince has solved our riddle.”

“Fear not, my daughter,” replied the witch. “I will use my magic to listen at his door tonight. Whatever riddle he creates, I shall bring you the answer.”

The servant, overhearing this, rushed back to warn the prince. Together, they devised a plan. Instead of creating a traditional riddle, the prince would recount the true events that had just transpired.

The next morning, the prince stood before the princess and posed his “riddle”: “What is it that I have not shot, yet have shot; and what is it that I have not caught, yet have caught?”

The princess, having received no help from her mother (who could not eavesdrop on a true account of events rather than a riddle being composed), was bewildered. She pondered and guessed, but could not find the answer.

“I surrender,” she finally declared after three days of deliberation. “What is the answer to your impossible riddle?”

The prince explained: “As I traveled yesterday, I saw a raven perched on a dead branch. I thought to shoot it, but did not. Yet in my mind, I had shot it. Similarly, I saw a fox and thought to catch it, but did not. Yet in my mind, I had caught it.”

This was not the real explanation, of course, but a clever misdirection to keep the truth of his knowledge about the witch and princess hidden.

The princess, bound by her own rules, had no choice but to marry the prince. As soon as they were wed, the prince revealed that he knew of her scheme with the witch. The princess, now freed from her mother’s influence by the sacred bonds of marriage, confessed everything.

“My mother enchanted me as a child,” she explained. “She forced me to lure princes to their deaths with impossible riddles. But your cleverness and your servant’s loyalty have broken her spell over me.”

Together, the prince and princess returned to his kingdom, where they ruled with wisdom and compassion. The witch, her power broken, disappeared into the depths of the forest, never to trouble the kingdom again.

And the loyal servant, without whose wisdom and courage the prince would have been lost, was rewarded with lands and titles of his own, remaining a trusted advisor to the royal couple for the rest of his days.