The Glass Mountain

There was once a mountain made of glass. On its top stood a castle of pure gold, and in front of the castle grew an apple tree with golden apples. Whoever picked one of those apples could get into the castle, where an enchanted princess of wonderful beauty sat in a silver room. She was as rich as she was lovely, for the castle cellars were full of jewels, and great chests of the finest gold stood round the walls of every room.

Knights came from far and wide to try their luck, but none of them could climb the mountain. Even with sharp nails in their horses’ shoes, nobody got more than halfway up before sliding all the way down the steep, slippery slope. Some broke an arm, some a leg, and many a brave man came to a much worse end. The princess sat at her window and watched the bold knights on their splendid horses. The sight of her always gave them fresh courage, and they came from all four corners of the world to try to rescue her, but all for nothing. For seven years she had sat waiting for someone to climb the Glass Mountain. All round its foot lay fallen riders and horses, some lifeless and some too badly hurt to go on, so that the whole place looked like a vast graveyard.

When only three days of the seven years were left, a knight in golden armour on a lively horse rode up to the mountain. He spurred his horse at the slope and got halfway up, then calmly turned and rode down without a slip. The next day he tried a second time. His horse trotted over the glass as if it were level ground, with sparks flying from its hoofs, and the other knights stared, for he was nearly at the top. In another moment he would have reached the apple tree. But suddenly a huge eagle rose up and spread its mighty wings, striking the horse in the eye. The horse shied, snorted and reared high in the air, its back hoofs slipped, and horse and rider tumbled all the way down the mountainside and lay still at the bottom.

Now only one day of the seven years was left. Then along came a schoolboy, a merry, light-hearted lad, but strong and well grown. He had heard his parents talk about the beautiful princess in the golden castle for a long time, and he had made up his mind to try his luck. He saw how many knights had failed, but he was not afraid. First he went into the forest and caught a lynx, and he took its sharp claws and fastened them to his own hands and feet. Then, armed with these, he began to climb the Glass Mountain on foot.

By sunset he was only halfway up. He was so tired he could hardly breathe, and his mouth was dry with thirst. A great black cloud floated over his head, and he begged it to let fall a drop of water. He opened his mouth wide, but the cloud sailed on, and not even a drop of dew touched his lips. His feet were torn and sore, and he could only hold on with his hands.

Night came. He peered up to see the top of the mountain, then looked down, and what he saw below was terrible: a deep, dark drop, with all the fallen knights and horses at the bottom. It was almost pitch black now, with only the stars shining on the glass. The poor boy clung on with his aching hands as if he were glued there. He had no strength left to climb any higher, and with no hope left he quietly waited for the end. Then, all of a sudden, he fell fast asleep. He forgot all about the danger and slept peacefully, and even in his sleep his sharp claws were dug so firmly into the glass that he did not fall.

Now the golden apple tree was guarded by the eagle that had thrown down the golden knight. Every night it flew round the Glass Mountain keeping watch. As soon as the moon came out from behind the clouds, the eagle rose from the tree, circled in the air and spotted the sleeping boy. Thinking he must be dead and would make a good meal, it swooped down on him.

But the boy was awake by then, and when he saw the eagle, he decided it would be the one to save him. The eagle dug its sharp claws into his skin. He bore the pain without a sound and grabbed both of the bird’s feet with his hands. Terrified, the eagle carried him high into the air and began to circle the castle tower, and the boy held on bravely. He saw the shining palace, glowing like a dim lamp in the pale moonlight, and its tall windows, and a balcony where the beautiful princess sat lost in sad thoughts.

When he saw that he was right above the apple tree, he pulled a small knife from his belt and cut off both of the eagle’s feet. The bird shot up into the clouds and was gone, and the boy dropped onto the broad branches of the apple tree. He pulled out the eagle’s claws, which were still stuck in his skin, and laid the peel of a golden apple on the wound, and in a moment it was completely healed. He picked several of the beautiful apples and put them in his pocket, and then he went to the castle.

A great dragon guarded the door, but as soon as the boy threw an apple at it, the beast vanished. At the same moment a gate swung open, and he saw a courtyard full of flowers and lovely trees. On a balcony sat the enchanted princess with her attendants. As soon as she saw him, she ran to greet him as her husband and master. She gave him all her treasure, and the schoolboy became a rich and mighty ruler.

He did not go down to the earth below, for only the great eagle, who had guarded the princess and the castle, could have carried such enormous treasure down on its wings. And the eagle, having lost its feet, died, and its body was found in a wood on the Glass Mountain.

One day, as the young man was walking in the palace garden with the princess, his wife, he looked down over the edge of the Glass Mountain and was amazed to see a great crowd of people gathered at the bottom.

He blew his silver whistle, and the swallow that carried messages for the golden castle came flying past. “Fly down and find out what is happening,” he told the little bird. Off it went like lightning, and soon it was back with the news.

“The eagle’s blood has brought all the people below back to life,” said the swallow. “Everyone who perished on this mountain is waking up today, as if from a sleep, and climbing onto their horses, and the whole country is watching this marvel with joy and amazement.”

Where this story comes from

Andrew Lang included this tale in The Yellow Fairy Book, and his footnote says simply that it comes from the Polish, by way of Kletke. That short note is all he tells us about where it came from.

Lang’s version describes the fallen knights at the foot of the mountain, the golden knight’s fall and the eagle’s wounds in grim detail. Here those parts, and the moment when the boy cuts off the eagle’s feet, are described more briefly. The disturbing events remain and should guide an adult’s reading choice.

Read the original: Andrew Lang, The Yellow Fairy Book (Project Gutenberg #640, The Glass Mountain)

For older readers: includes a landscape of dead and injured people and horses, taking claws from a lynx, and cutting off an eagle’s feet before its death.

The rescuer depends on the creature he kills

The eagle is first a threat, then the boy’s transport, and finally the source of the blood that revives those below. Its death also removes the only means of carrying the treasure down. The ending therefore links triumph, loss and restoration in an unusual way; it is not simply proof that trying harder guarantees success.

Map the eagle’s roles

Draw three scenes: the golden knight’s fall, the boy above the apple tree, and the people waking at the mountain’s foot. Explain how the eagle affects each scene. Then describe what the boy gains and what possibility he loses by cutting its feet.

Talk about it

• Why do you think the schoolboy succeeded when so many knights on horseback had failed?
• How did the boy turn the dangerous eagle into a way of reaching the top?
• What did the golden apples do in the story?

More stories like this

• The Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Knowitall — another Slavic tale of a young hero on a hard quest
• The Wooing of Olwen — another tale of a hero who must win a hard-to-reach bride
• The Sprightly Tailor — another tale of an ordinary lad who outdoes the mighty