In ancient times, in a small city, fortune smiled upon a poor couple when they were blessed with a son who had a scepter mark behind his left ear. They prophesied greatness for him, and that he would bring luck and wealth not only to his parents but to the entire city. They also prophesied that he would marry the king’s daughter as soon as he became a young man.
His parents were filled with happiness. As soon as the king heard the boy’s story, he flew into a rage. How could a peasant’s son marry the princess, the daughter of a king? He disguised himself as a wealthy merchant and went to the peasant’s home, claiming he had no children, and offered them two bags of gold in exchange for their only son.
The couple thought for a moment and refused the gold, but they agreed to give him the child, realizing they were too poor to provide the boy with what he deserved. The king took the boy, placed him in a carriage, and left the city without supervision, wanting to keep the boy away from his daughter. That night, the king thought he had achieved what he wanted.
But this did not happen. Shortly after the king departed, a simple man who had not been blessed with children found the boy. He and his wife named him Leo and decided to raise him as their son.
Years passed, and Leo grew into a promising young man. While passing through the forest, he met a man who was the king. The king asked him, “Do you know the way to the city of Hogs?” He said, “Of course.” The king noticed the mark under his ear and said, “How is this? I sent him away so he wouldn’t marry my daughter.”
He said to him, “Young man, I have a royal message I wish to deliver to the queen in the palace. Can you help me? It is very, very important. Also, whatever you do, do not open the letter.” The young man departed. He began his journey, not realizing it was the beginning of an adventure. He traveled for hours until the palace was only minutes away.
Suddenly, a huge serpent appeared before his horse, and the horse stopped. Leo had been led to the middle of the forest, very far from the palace. He found a small house. He dismounted from his horse, knocked on the door, and said, “I was on my way to the palace to deliver a message, but I lost my way. May I stay the night?”
He entered the house. The man said to him, “Thank you for your hospitality.” He said to him, “You don’t seem to know who I am.” He said, “I don’t know.” The people of the city call me Ginger, and they fear me greatly for robbing houses. The funny thing is they don’t know which houses I robbed specifically. The man said, “That’s because I didn’t rob. Anyway, whatever I tell them, they don’t believe me. Perhaps they’re afraid of me. Why aren’t you afraid?” He said, “Because I love people.”
Ginger was shocked. This was the first time in his life he felt someone’s kindness. He took his food and went to sleep. Ginger felt strange that a city dweller was carrying a royal letter, so he decided to open the envelope. He found that whoever carried this letter would be thrown into prison for life. Ginger tore up the letter, wrote a new message, placed it in the royal envelope, and returned it to its place.
The next day, Leo arrived at the palace with the letter. The letter stated that the bearer of this letter should marry the princess immediately. The queen said, “Summon the princess.” She said to her, “Your father wants you to marry him. Is that agreeable?” As soon as they looked at each other, they fell in love. She said, “I agree, Mother.” The queen felt happy, and the wedding was held that same day.
Before long, the king returned and flew into a rage when he learned what had happened, but it was too late. Leo had become a prince, and he could not throw his daughter’s husband into prison. The king thought of another plan and said to him, “The princess is cursed to die on the seventh day of her marriage. There is only one thing that will save her: the three golden hairs of the ogre.”
Leo said, “I will go, and I won’t let anything happen to my wife.” He bid his wife farewell, and the path led him to a large city. As he tried to enter, the gatekeeper stopped him and said to him, “If you want to enter, solve this. The fountain used to give us the finest drink, but now it gives us no water. Why?” He thought for a moment, then said, “I know the solution, but I won’t tell you now. I’m on a very important mission, and I was told that whoever forces me to answer any question will turn into a goat.”
The gatekeeper said, “What’s the hurry? Give me the answer on your way back.” He continued until he reached another city. He was told the same thing about a golden apple tree that now had only leaves. He gave the same answer, and the gatekeeper let him in. He thought this was the end of the mysterious riddles until he met a man in a boat who presented him with another riddle. He sighed and told the man about the goat. The man ferried him to the other side.
Leo arrived at the ogre’s lair. Outside, he found a lady trying to pick mangoes. The ogre was her grandson. She said, “Is the ogre your grandson? Will you tell me where he is so I can ask him three riddles?” Leo told her his full story. The ogre’s grandmother laughed and said, “It seems the king is more evil than my grandson.” She said to him, “You innocent young man, the king wants to get you into trouble, and that’s why he sent you here.”
Leo was a smart young man. He thought a little and made an agreement with the grandmother that she would try to find solutions to the three riddles, and in return, he would not tell the ogre that she tried to eat the mangoes.
The ogre’s grandmother turned Leo into an ant and kept him in her pocket. When the ogre came, he was tired and went to sleep. The grandmother went to the ogre while he was sleeping, pulled out a hair, and said to him, “I dreamed that the fine drink fountain no longer has water in it.” He said, “Because there is a frog living under the fountain, and someone must remove it.”
A little while later, when the ogre fell into a deep sleep, she pulled out another hair and said, “Another dream. I saw a beautiful tree that bore golden apples, and now it has only leaves.” He said, “A mouse is gnawing at its roots, Grandmother.” She said to him, “Sleep.” But he pulled his hair and said, “So there’s no hair for you to pull.” She said, “All right, I have another question. Why can’t the boatman stop going back and forth with people?” He said, “Because the oar is enchanted, and he must give it to someone to end the curse.”
The ogre went to sleep. Then the ogre’s grandmother returned Leo to his form and gave him her grandson’s hairs. He bowed to her and quickly departed across the river. He gave the answer to the boatman, met the second gatekeeper, told him the answer, the gatekeeper went to the tree and removed the mouse, and the tree immediately bore fruit. The city rewarded Leo with two bags of gold.
He answered the first gatekeeper’s question, and this city also rewarded him with four bags of gold. Leo headed to the palace. The king saw Leo approaching him with bags of gold. Greed overcame him, but Leo knew the king was evil. He said to him, “There is a man in a boat on the way to the ogre. Ride with him, take his oar, and quickly cross to the other side. You will find fields of gold there.”
The king rushed to the boat, took the oar from the man, and from that moment on Leo learned the story of his parents. His parents were invited, as well as the couple who raised him, to the palace. The prophecy was fulfilled, and luck and wealth came to the entire city.