There was once upon a time a king who had a great forest near his palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. \\u0027Perhaps some accident has befallen him,\\u0027 said the king, and the next day he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said:\\u0027Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until you have found all three.\\u0027 But of these also, none came home again, none were seen again. From that time forth, no one would any longer venture into the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness and solitude,and nothing was seen of it, but sometimes an eagle or a hawk flying over it. This lasted for many years,when an unknown huntsman announced himself to the king as seeking a situation, and offered to go into the dangerous forest. The king, however, would not give his consent, and said: \\u0027It is not safe in there; I fear it would fare with you no better than with the others,and you would never come out again.\\u0027 The huntsman replied: \\u0027Lord, I will venture it at my own risk, of fear I know nothing.\\u0027
The huntsman therefore betook himself with his dog to the forest. It was not long before the dog fell in with some game on the way, and wanted to pursue it; but hardly had the dog run two steps when it stood before a deep pool, could go no farther, and a naked arm stretched itself out of the water, seized it, and drew it under. When the huntsman saw that, he went back and fetched three men to come with buckets and bale out the water. When they could see to the bottom there lay a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to his knees. They bound him with cords, and led him away to the castle.There was great astonishment over the wild man;the king, however, had him put in an iron cage in his courtyard, and forbade the door to be opened on pain of death, and the queen herself was to take the key into her keeping. And from this time forth everyone could again go into the forest with safety.
The king had a son of eight years, who was once playing in the courtyard, and while he was playing,his golden ball fell into the cage. The boy ran thither and said: \\u0027Give me my ball out.\\u0027 \\u0027Not till you have opened the door for me,\\u0027 answered the man. \\u0027No,\\u0027 said the boy, \\u0027I will not do that; the king has forbidden it,\\u0027and ran away. The next day he again went and asked for his ball; the wild man said: \\u0027Open my door,\\u0027 but the boy would not. On the third day the king had ridden out hunting, and the boy went once more and said: \\u0027I cannot open the door even if I wished, for I have not the key.\\u0027 Then the wild man said: \\u0027It lies under your mother\\u0027s pillow, you can get it there.\\u0027 The boy, who wanted to have his ball back, cast all thought to the winds, and brought the key. The door opened with difficulty, and the boy pinched his fingers. When it wa open the wild man stepped out, gave him the golden ball, and hurried away. The boy had become afraid; he called and cried after him: \\u0027Oh, wild man, do not go away, or I shall be beaten!\\u0027 The wild man turned back,took him up, set him on his shoulder, and went with hasty steps into the forest. When the king came home,he observed the empty cage, and asked the queen how that had happened. She knew nothing about it, and sought the key, but it was gone. She called the boy, but no one answered. The king sent out people to seek for him in the fields, but they did not find him. Then he could easily guess what had happened, and much grief reigned in the royal court.
When the wild man had once more reached the dark forest, he took the boy down from his shoulder,and said to him: \\u0027You will never see your father and mother again, but I will keep you with me, for you have set me free, and I have compassion on you. If you do all I bid you, you shall fare well. Of treasure and gold have I enough, and more than anyone in the world.\\u0027 He made a bed of moss for the boy on which he slept, and the next morning the man took him to a well, and said: \\u0027Behold, the gold well is as bright and clear as crystal, you shall sit beside it, and take care that nothing falls into it, or it will be polluted. I will come every evening to see if you have obeyed my order.\\u0027 The boy placed himself by the brink of the well, and often saw a golden fish or a golden snake show itself therein, and took care that nothing fell in.As he was thus sitting, his finger hurt him so violently that he involuntarily put it in the water. He drew it quickly out again, but saw that it was quite gilded, and whatsoever pains he took to wash the gold off again,all was to no purpose. In the evening Iron Hans came back, looked at the boy, and said: \\u0027What has happened to the well?\\u0027 \\u0027Nothing nothing,\\u0027 he answered, and held his finger behind his back, that the man might not see it. But he said: \\u0027You have dipped your finger into the water, this time it may pass, but take care you do not again let anything go in.\\u0027 By daybreak the boy was already sitting by the well and watching it. His finger hurt him again and he passed it over his head, and then unhappily a hair fell down into the well. He took it quickly out, but it was already quite gilded. Iron Hans came, and already knew what had happened. \\u0027You have let a hair fall into the well,\\u0027 said he. \\u0027I will allow you to watch by it once more, but if this happens for the third time then the well is polluted and you can no longer remain with me.\\u0027