Iron Hans

A king had a great forest full of wild animals near his palace. He sent a huntsman for a roe; the man did not return. Perhaps an accident, said the king, and sent two more to search; they too stayed away. On the third day he ordered all his huntsmen to scour the forest and not give up until they found the three. None of these came home either. From that time no one would venture into the forest; it lay in deep stillness, and nothing was seen of it but sometimes an eagle or hawk flying over. This lasted many years, until an unknown huntsman offered to go into the dangerous wood. The king refused—it was not safe; he feared the man would fare no better than the others. The huntsman said he would venture at his own risk; of fear he knew nothing.

He took his dog into the forest. Soon the dog found game and would pursue it, but after two steps it stood before a deep pool; a naked arm stretched from the water, seized it, and drew it under. The huntsman fetched three men with buckets to bale out the water. At the bottom lay a wild man, body brown like rusty iron, hair hanging over his face to his knees. They bound him and led him to the castle. There was great astonishment; the king had him put in an iron cage in the courtyard, forbade the door opened on pain of death, and gave the key to the queen. From then on everyone could go safely into the forest again.

The king had a son of eight who played in the courtyard. His golden ball fell into the cage. “Give me my ball out,” said the boy. “Not till you open the door for me,” answered the man. No—the king has forbidden it—and the boy ran away. Next day he came again; the wild man said as before. On the third day the king was out hunting; the boy said he could not open the cage without the key. The wild man told him it was under the queen’s pillow. Eager for his ball, the boy fetched it and pinched his fingers while struggling to open the door. The wild man stepped out, gave him the ball, and hurried away. The boy was frightened he would be punished for stealing the key; he cried after the man. The wild man seized him, set him on his shoulder, and ran into the forest. When the king came home the cage was empty and the boy gone; much grief reigned at court.

In the dark forest the wild man—Iron Hans—set the boy down and said he would never see his father and mother again, but would stay with him, and if he did all he was told it would go well. Beside them sprang a well of pure gold; Iron Hans set the boy to watch it. “Sit here,” he said, “and take care that nothing falls in, or the water will be polluted and you can stay with me no longer.” The boy sat the first day; his finger hurt, he dipped it in to cool it, and when he drew it out it was covered with gold. Iron Hans knew at once. “You have dipped your finger,” he said. “I will overlook it this once, but do not let it happen again.” Next day his finger hurt again; he passed his hand over his head, and a single hair fell in; it too came out gilded. Iron Hans warned that a third fault would end their life together. On the third day the boy leaned over to look at his face in the gold water, leaned too far, and all his long hair plunged in and was gilded from root to tip. Then Iron Hans sent him away into the world. “You have not stood the trial,” he said. “Go into the world and learn what poverty is. Yet you have not a bad heart. If you are in difficulty, come to the forest and call ‘Iron Hans,’ and I will help you.”

The boy wandered until he came to a great city and asked at the palace if they would take him in. They liked him but knew no use for him; at last the cook took him to carry wood and water and sweep. Once when the cook was out the boy had to carry food to the king’s table. He would not take off his cap, though the king ordered it—he said he had a sore head. The king ordered the cook to dismiss him. The cook took pity on him and found him a place with the gardener, planting and watering. One day in summer he was alone in the garden and took off his cap to cool himself; the sun shone on his golden hair so that it sparkled. The king’s daughter saw from her window, called him to bring a nosegay, and ordered him to take off his cap—it was not seemly. He refused again. She snatched at the cap; his hair fell over his shoulders, so handsome that all were amazed; he pulled the cap back on quickly. She had him bring flowers often after that, and gave him gold, which he passed on to the gardener’s children. On the next two visits she again tried to take his cap, but he held it firmly with both hands.

By now the boy had grown up. War broke out; the king was weak against a mighty foe and his army was hard pressed. The boy asked leave to go to the wars; they laughed and asked how a gardener’s boy could help—yet to be rid of his asking they gave him a horse. He rode to the forest edge, called “Iron Hans” three times so the trees echoed. The wild man appeared at once. “What do you desire?” he asked. “A strong steed,” said the youth, “for I am going to the wars.” “That you shall have, and more.” Iron Hans gave him a magnificent charger and a whole troop of knights in iron armour. The boy rode to the battle, which was already nearly lost; at the head of his men he struck into the enemy and turned defeat into victory. He pursued the fleeing enemy until none remained. Then he sent the knights and the charger quietly back to Iron Hans, remounted his old nag, and rode home as if he had done nothing. The others mocked their hobblety-jib. “Under what hedge have you been lying asleep all this time?” they asked. He answered that he had done the best of all, and that without him it would have gone ill with them; they only laughed the harder.

The king proclaimed a feast of three days, at which his daughter would throw a golden apple among the knights, hoping the unknown rescuer would appear. The princess hoped above all that the unknown knight who had saved their army would appear. The boy went again to the forest and called Iron Hans; each day he received a different splendid steed and suit of armour—red on the first day, white on the second, black on the third—and each day he rode into the lists, caught the golden apple, and dashed away before anyone could hold his bridle. Angry at his repeated departures, the king ordered his men to pursue him and attack if he would not return. On the third day they followed, and one wounded his leg with a sword. He escaped, but his horse leapt so violently that the helmet fell from his head and they saw clearly that he had golden hair. They rode back and announced this to the king.

The princess asked the gardener about his boy, and the king had him summoned. He came with his little cap on, but the princess went up and took it off, and his golden hair fell over his shoulders. “Are you the knight who came each day in different colours and caught the three golden apples?” asked the king. “Yes,” he said, “and here they are,” and he took them from his pocket. “If you want more proof, you may see the wound your people gave me when they followed me. And I am also the knight who won you the victory.” “If you can do such deeds, you are no gardener’s boy,” said the king. “Who is your father?” “My father is a mighty king, and I have as much gold as I need.” “I well see I owe you thanks,” said the king. “Can I do anything to please you?” “Yes,” he said. “Give me your daughter to wife.” The maiden laughed. “He does not stand much on ceremony,” she said, “but I saw by his golden hair that he was no gardener’s boy.” And she kissed him. His father and mother came to the wedding in great delight, for they had long given up hope of seeing their lost son again. As they sat at the wedding feast the music suddenly stopped, the doors of the hall opened wide, and a stately king entered with a great retinue. He went straight to the youth and embraced him. “I am Iron Hans,” he said. “I was turned into a wild man by enchantment, but you have set me free, and all the treasures I possess shall be yours.”

Where this tale comes from

“Iron Hans” (“Der Eisenhans”) is number 136 in the Grimms’ collection; Margaret Hunt translates it as “Iron John.” This version follows Project Gutenberg’s Grimms’ Fairy Tales (#2591), an English text based on the translations of Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes.

The tale mixes a wild man of the woods, a golden spring, a prince in disguise as a gardener’s boy and a tournament in three colours. This is a condensed retelling, with a dangerous opening, a destructive battle and a king’s order to attack the unknown knight. The ending identifies Iron Hans as an enchanted king without explaining the enchantment’s original cause.

Read the original: Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg #2591)

Best for ages 9–12 with adult discussion: a dog dragged underwater, missing huntsmen, a child taken from home, a deadly battle and a king ordering violence against his own rescuer.

Reading the story closely

The golden hair is a record of a failed test, yet at court it becomes a sign people admire and associate with high birth. Its meaning changes with the observer. The cook’s practical compassion is less spectacular than Iron Hans’s army, but it also keeps the prince from being cast out. Neither the prince’s birth nor his hair makes a gardener less deserving of respect.

Follow the ball, well, apples and wedding treasure through the story. For each golden object, name the desire or recognition it produces. Then compare the three proofs at the final audience: apples, wound and the prince’s account of battle. The wound exposes the king’s harmful order at the very moment the king discovers he owes this stranger gratitude.

Talk about it

• Why do you think the boy hid his golden hair under a cap for so long?
• The boy failed Iron Hans’s test three times. Why did Iron Hans still help him later?
• Iron Hans begins as a threat and ends as a benefactor. Which events support each view, and what does the ending leave unexplained?

Related stories

• The Water of Life — a Grimm prince proves himself on a quest and wins a princess
• The King of the Golden Mountain — another Grimm hero helped by magic to win a kingdom
• The Golden Bird — a gardener’s son helped repeatedly by a fox