Illustration from The Six Servants, a Grimm fairy tale about a prince and his six helpers with extraordinary powers.
This is a traditional tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.
The story is presented here in its original form.
Once upon a time there was a queen who was very proud. If a suitor came and did not please her, she had him put to death. But she had a beautiful daughter, and at last a prince came who pleased her. She told him, however, that if he wished to marry her daughter, he must first perform a task, and if he did not succeed, he must lose his life.
The prince said he would gladly do it. Then the queen said, “You must bring me the ring which I have thrown into the Red Sea.” Now the sea was very deep, and the prince thought he would never be able to find the ring again.
But he did not lose courage, and set out on his journey. On the way he met a man who lay on the ground and said, “I am so hungry that I could eat a whole forest.” The prince said, “If you will help me, I will feed you.” Then the man went with him.
After a while he met another man who stood by a well and said, “I am so thirsty that I could drink a whole lake.” The prince said, “If you will help me, I will give you enough to drink.” Then he also went with him.
Then he met a third man who lay on the ground and said, “I am so strong that I could uproot six trees at once.” The prince said, “If you will help me, I will reward you.” Then he went with him.
After that he met a fourth man who had a cloth wrapped round his head. When he took it off, his eyes were so sharp that they could see anything, even at a great distance. The prince said, “If you will help me, you shall come with me,” and he agreed.
Then he met a fifth man who was lying with his ear on the ground. “What are you listening to?” asked the prince. “I can hear everything that is happening in the world,” he answered. The prince said, “Come with me,” and he agreed.
At last he met a sixth man who was blowing on his fingers, and wherever he blew, it became freezing cold. “What can you do?” asked the prince. “If I blow, it freezes everything,” he said. The prince said, “Then you shall come with me.”
So the prince had six servants, each with a special gift.
When they came to the Red Sea, the man with the sharp eyes looked into the water and said, “I can see the ring lying at the bottom.” Then the strong man went down, took it, and brought it up. So the prince had the ring and brought it to the queen.
But she was not satisfied and said, “You must perform another task. My daughter must be brought from the mountain where she now sits. The mountain is guarded, and no one can reach it.”
Then the man who could hear everything said, “I hear where she is.” The one with the sharp eyes looked and saw the place. Then the strong man lifted the prince, and the others helped him, and they brought the princess down safely.
But the queen still wanted to destroy the prince, so she gave him another task. She had an iron house made, and inside it she placed the prince and his servants, and then she had a great fire kindled around it so that they would burn.
But the man who could freeze things blew on the fire, and everything became so cold that the fire went out, and they remained unharmed.
Then the queen saw that she could do nothing against the prince, and she had to let him marry her daughter.
So the prince married the princess, and they lived together in peace and happiness, and his six servants were always with him and were well rewarded.