Once upon a time, a king lived with his only daughter, a princess whose beauty and wisdom were admired by everyone who knew her. After the death of his beloved queen, the king eventually married a widow who had a daughter of her own. Unfortunately, his new wife and her daughter were jealous of the princess. They treated her politely only when the king was present, hiding their cruelty behind false smiles.
When the king went to war, the stepmother finally revealed her true nature. She beat the princess, denied her enough food, and eventually sent her away to tend cattle in the woods and fields. The princess grew thin and miserable, spending much of her time in tears.
Among the cattle was a magnificent blue bull. One day, seeing the princess weeping, he asked what troubled her. When she remained silent, he told her that he already knew how cruelly the queen treated her. He then revealed a wonderful secret: inside his left ear was a cloth that could provide any food she desired.
Explore more stories from our Andrew Lang’s Colour Fairy Books collection.
The princess took the cloth, spread it upon the grass, and watched as it filled with delicious dishes, cakes, wine, and mead. At last, she could eat properly. Her health returned, and she grew rosy and beautiful again.
Her stepmother was astonished by the change and sent a maid to spy on her. The maid discovered the magical cloth and reported everything to the queen.
Before long, the king returned victorious from the war. The palace celebrated his homecoming, but the queen devised a terrible plan. She pretended to be seriously ill and bribed the doctor to declare that only the flesh of the blue bull could cure her.
Everyone pleaded for the animal’s life, but the queen insisted that he must die. Heartbroken, the princess went to the byre to tell the bull what was about to happen.
The bull warned her that once he was killed, the queen would soon turn against her again. He proposed that they escape together that very night. Though the princess dreaded leaving her father, she knew that remaining in the palace would bring her further suffering. She agreed.
After everyone had gone to bed, she crept to the byre and climbed onto the bull’s back. They slipped out of the courtyard and travelled far away. By morning, both the bull and the princess had disappeared. The king sent messengers throughout his kingdom to find them, but nobody could discover where they had gone.
The Three Enchanted Forests
After travelling through many lands, the bull and the princess reached a forest where every tree, branch, leaf, and flower was made of copper.
Before entering, the bull warned her not to touch anything. A three-headed troll owned the forest, and disturbing it would bring a deadly fight. The princess did her best to avoid the branches, but the forest was so dense that she accidentally pulled off a copper leaf.
The bull told her to keep it. Soon, the three-headed troll appeared and challenged them for trespassing. The bull fought fiercely, but the battle lasted the entire day. At last, he defeated the troll, though his own body was badly wounded. The princess took a horn of healing ointment from the troll’s belt and rubbed it over him. His strength returned, and after resting for a day, they continued their journey.
Their next destination was a silver forest, where everything shone with silver. Again, the bull warned the princess not to touch a single leaf. This time, however, the branches were even more difficult to avoid, and she accidentally plucked one.
The six-headed troll who owned the forest came rushing towards them. The bull fought with all his strength, but this enemy was much more powerful than the first. Three days passed before the bull finally defeated him. Exhausted and bleeding, he could scarcely move. Once again, the princess used the healing ointment from the defeated troll’s belt. The bull recovered, but they had to rest for a whole week before he could travel again.
At last, they entered a golden forest. Its trees, flowers, branches, and leaves were made of pure gold. The bull warned the princess that a nine-headed troll lived there, stronger than the two they had already fought.
She tried desperately to avoid touching anything, but the golden branches crowded around her until she accidentally caught a golden apple in her hands. Terrified, she began to cry. The bull comforted her and told her to keep it.
The nine-headed troll appeared, and another terrible battle began. The bull attacked relentlessly, but whenever he destroyed one of the troll’s heads, the remaining heads restored it to life. The struggle continued for an entire week before he finally defeated the monster.
This time, the bull was so badly injured that he could not even speak. The princess understood what she needed to do and took the healing ointment from the troll’s belt, rubbing it over his wounds. He recovered, but it took three weeks of rest before he could move again.
The Bull’s Final Request
When they resumed their journey, they crossed hills and forests until they reached the open mountain slopes. The bull repeatedly asked the princess what she could see. At first, there was nothing but the sky and the wild landscape. Eventually, she spotted a distant castle, which grew larger as they approached.
The bull explained that she would live near the castle, in a pigsty below a rocky cliff. She would find a wooden gown there and must enter the palace disguised as a poor servant, calling herself Kari Woodengown.
Then he gave her one final instruction. She was to take her little knife, cut off his head, remove his hide, and place it beneath the rock. Under the hide, she must keep the copper leaf, the silver leaf, and the golden apple. Beside the rock stood a stick. Whenever she needed help, she could knock against the rock with it.
The princess was horrified at the thought of killing the creature who had saved her. But the bull insisted that this was the only reward he wanted for everything he had done. With a heavy heart, she obeyed. She placed his hide beneath the rock, together with the three treasures, and walked sorrowfully to the pigsty.
There, she put on the wooden gown and went to the castle kitchen to ask for work. The cook agreed to employ her, giving her the task of washing dishes. He assumed she would soon become tired of the unpleasant work and leave, but Kari was determined to stay.
Three Sundays at the Castle
On the following Sunday, visitors were expected at the palace. Kari asked permission to carry water upstairs for the prince’s bath. The other servants laughed at her appearance, but she persisted until they allowed her to go.
As she climbed the stairs, her wooden gown clattered loudly. The prince came out to see what was happening. When Kari explained that she had brought his bathwater, he rejected it and poured it over her.
Kari endured the humiliation and asked to attend church. Once permission was granted, she hurried to the rock and knocked with the stick. A man appeared and gave her a magnificent copper-coloured gown, together with a horse and saddle.
When she arrived at church, everyone marvelled at her beauty. The prince could not take his eyes off her. After the service, he followed her outside and managed to keep one of her gloves. When he asked where she came from, she answered that she was from Bathland. Then she spoke a strange rhyme, asking darkness to fall behind her and light to remain on her path so the prince would not discover where she was going. She disappeared, leaving him unable to find the mysterious country she had named.
The following Sunday, Kari again asked to carry something upstairs, this time a towel. The prince recognised her wooden gown, snatched the towel from her, and threw it into her face. Yet Kari remained determined to attend church.
At the rock, the mysterious man gave her an even finer gown, embroidered with silver, along with a splendid horse decorated with silver trappings. At church, the prince was more captivated than before. He tried to help her mount her horse, but she explained that the animal was so well trained that it would stand still when commanded. When he asked where she came from, she answered, “Towelland.” She dropped her riding-whip, and as he bent to retrieve it, she recited her rhyme and vanished again.
The prince searched for Towelland without success.
On the third Sunday, Kari asked to carry a comb to the prince. The servants warned her that he would humiliate her again, but she refused to give up. As expected, the prince insulted her and threw the comb at her. Still, she asked permission to go to church.
This time, the mysterious man gave her a magnificent gown made almost entirely of gold and diamonds, together with a noble horse, golden saddle trappings, and a golden bridle.
Her appearance astonished everyone at the church, and the prince fell more deeply in love with her. Determined to discover her identity, he spread tar across the church porch, hoping she would need his help to cross it.
But Kari simply stepped into the tar and jumped over it. One of her golden shoes remained stuck behind.
When the prince asked where she came from, she answered, “Combland.” She recited her rhyme once more and disappeared before he could return the shoe.
The Golden Shoe Reveals the Princess
The prince searched far and wide for Combland, but nobody knew where it was. At last, he announced that he would marry any woman whose foot fitted the golden shoe.
Women from every region came forward, but the shoe fitted none of them. Eventually, Kari’s wicked stepmother arrived with her own daughter. To everyone’s surprise, the shoe appeared to fit the daughter. However, the prince noticed that she looked deeply uncomfortable and was reluctant to marry her.
As the wedding party travelled towards the church, a little bird perched in a tree and sang that the girl’s heel and toes had been cut to force her foot into the shoe, and that blood was filling it.
When the people examined the shoe, they discovered that the bird had spoken the truth. The servants and women of the castle were then invited to try it, but nobody could wear it properly.
The prince remembered the bird’s song and asked where Kari Woodengown was. The other servants dismissed her, insisting that her feet were far too large for such a delicate shoe.
Nevertheless, the prince ordered Kari to try it.
She climbed the stairs in her clattering wooden gown while the servants laughed at her. Kari took the golden shoe and slipped it onto her foot with ease. Then she removed the wooden gown, revealing the magnificent golden dress beneath it. On her other foot was the matching golden shoe.
The prince recognised the mysterious woman from church immediately. Overjoyed, he embraced and kissed her. When he learned that she was a king’s daughter, his happiness grew even greater.
At last, Kari Woodengown’s true identity was revealed, and she and the prince were married.
Explore our complete Historic Folklore & Fairy-Tale Collections archive.
Moral
True worth cannot be judged by outward appearance, and kindness can make a difference when someone is suffering. Kari’s journey also shows the importance of courage, loyalty, and perseverance when facing cruelty and humiliation.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did Kari have to leave her father’s kingdom?
Her stepmother mistreated her and planned to have the blue bull killed, forcing Kari to escape with him.
2. What did Kari accidentally take from each enchanted forest?
She took a copper leaf, a silver leaf, and a golden apple.
3. How did Kari help the blue bull after his battles?
She used healing ointment taken from the defeated trolls to restore his strength.
4. Why did Kari wear a wooden gown at the prince’s castle?
The disguise allowed her to live and work in the palace while concealing her royal identity.
5. How was Kari’s identity finally discovered?
The golden shoe fitted her perfectly, and when she removed her wooden gown, the prince recognised her as the mysterious woman he had admired at church.
Source
This retelling is based on “Kari Woodengown,” a Norwegian fairy tale published in Andrew Lang’s The Red Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1890). The collection was edited by Andrew Lang, and the tale is associated with Norwegian folklorists Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.
Explore More Andrew Lang’s Colour Fairy Books Folktales
The Enchanted Date Palm of the Oasis
Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess
The Bronze Ring: A Classic Fairy Tale
Why the Sea Is Salt: The Blue Fairy Book
The Shepherd and the Clever Chacal
The Old Man and the River Spirit
