A soldier was on his way home from the wars, whistling a merry tune, when he saw an old woman sitting under a large oak tree. "Listen, lad," she called. "I can make you richer than you ever dreamed possible."
The soldier’s whistle faded on his lips as he approached the old woman. She was so ugly he was sure she must be a witch. "Oh, yes?" he cried. "Tell me how I can become so rich."
The old witch tapped the oak tree. "This oak is hollow," she said. "I’m too old and stiff to climb down it any more. But I can tie a rope round your waist and lower you down to the secret chamber. There you will find three doors. Behind the first door stands a sea-chest which is full of copper coins. It is guarded by a large dog who sits on its lid. But there is no need to be afraid. To open the chest, all you have to do is lay my apron on the floor and put the dog on it."
"But copper won’t make me rich," said the solder. "What’s behind the second door?"
"Behind the second door stands a sea-chest full of silver coins. It is guarded by an even bigger bog who sits on its lid. But don’t worry. Lift the dog on to my apron and you’ll be able to take the silver."
"And what about the third door?"
"Behind the third door stands a sea-chest full of gold coins, guarded by a third dog..."
"That’s the one I want," cried the soldier, tying the rope round his waist and leaping to the lowest branch of the tree. "I suppose you want to share the treasure with me, old woman?"
"No, boy, you can keep it all," said the witch. "All I want is my tinder-box. I left it behind the last time I was down there. Here, don’t forget to take my apron, or the dogs will bite you. And put each dog back on its chest!"
She lowered the soldier down through the darkness of the hollow tree, and on down through the dark earth. Suddenly his feet touched the ground, and for a moment he was dazzled by the light of a hundred lamps. But then he saw the he was in a huge hall with three doors.
Slowly, he opened the first door. And there was a sea-chest just as the witch had said. "Well!" the soldier exclaimed. "She told me a dog would be guarding each chest, but she didn’t say the first one would have eyes as big a saucers." He carefully lifted the dog on to the witch’s apron, and it licked his face and blinked its huge eyes. He checked that the chest was full of copper coins and then lifted the dog back to its usual position on the lid. He was eager to get to the second door.
Behind it stood another sea-chest - and a dog with eyes the size of dinner plates. "The witch didn’t tell me about your eyes," gasped the soldier as he struggled to lift the dog off the chest and on to the apron. "What a strange view of the world you must have!" He checked that the chest was full of silver coins, lifted the dog back on to the lid, then hurried to the third door.
Behind it stood another sea-chest. And although the soldier had already seen two very strange dogs, he let out a gasp of surprise. "Phew! The witch might have warned me that the third dog would have eyes as big as cartwheels!"
The huge beast frightened the soldier. But he plucked up the courage to heave it off the chest and struggled and strained to lift it on to the apron. He lifted the lid up - and there inside was the gold he was looking for.
He crammed the gold coins into his pockets until he could hardly move. He had to really struggle to lift the massive dog back on to the chest. His trousers and jacket were bulging with gold. When he found the witch’s tinder-box, he had to tuck it under his hat!
The old witch took a long time to haul him up through the hollow oak tree. The moment his feet touched the road again she told him to hand over the tinder-box.
"Why is it worth so much more to you than a sea-chest full of gold?" asked the soldier. "Tell me the secret of the tinder-box, or I’ll keep it for myself."
"You won’t! You won’t!" screamed the witch - and she grew so purple with rage that she burst into a thousand pieces - and blew away like a pile of autumn leaves.
By the time the soldier reached town, he had forgotten all about the witch and her silly tinder-box. All he wanted to do was start spending his gold.
Now, suddenly, he was the richest man in town. He could buy anything - houses, clothes, horses, food. He held parties every day, and he gave away gold to anyone who seemed to need it.
But there was one thing he could not buy - and that was a glimpse of the king’s beautiful daughter. Nobody had been allowed to see her since the day a fortune-teller read her palm and declared that she would one day marry a common soldier.
"A common soldier!" cried the king. "I’d rather she never married at all!" And he shut her away in the palace.
"A common soldier!" screamed the queen. "Soldiers are so dirty and rough. And look how they throw their money away. Remember that rich soldier who came to town with pockets full of gold? Within a year he hadn’t a penny left!"
It was true. The soldier had spent his last penny. He was living in an attic room without enough money to buy a single candle.
One cold night, he lay in the dark trying to keep warm when he suddenly remembered the witch’s old tinder-box. He could strike a spark with that and burn a few wisps of straw to warm his hands. Yes, the box was still in the pocket of his old soldier’s uniform! He struck it once, and pale sparks flew up.
And there, winking at him through the darkness, was the dog with the eyes as big as saucers. "Hello, old friend!" the soldier exclaimed. "I turned up my nose at your treasure of copper coins. But I wish I had just one copper penny now, to buy myself a candle!"
The dog with eyes as big as saucers gave him a lick and bounded off. In a few minutes he was back carrying the sea-chest full of copper coins.
The soldier struck the tinder-box again and the second dog appeared, its eyes as big as dinner plates spinning in its head. It quickly fetched the chest full of silver.
When the third dog appeared at the command of the tinder-box, it was so big there was no room for it in the attic. It sat in the street outside and blinked through the window with its eyes as big as cartwheels.
"You three dogs have made me rich again," said the soldier. "Can you make me happy too? I long for a glimpse of the beautiful princess." The huge dog immediately disappeared. When it returned, the princess was riding on its back - fast asleep. "She’s even more beautiful than I imagined," sighed the soldier, and kissed her gently. Then the dog carried her back to the palace.
The next morning, the princess told the king and queen: "I had a lovely dream last night. I dreamed I was carried through town by a huge dog and then kissed by a soldier."
"A soldier!" cried the king.
"A soldier!" screamed the queen. "I hope it was a dream." But just in cast it had not been, the queen made a silk purse, filled it with fine flour and pricked a hole in the bottom. Then, secretly, she tied it to the princess’s nightdress.
That night, the dog came to fetch the princess again. As he ran through the streets, he did not notice that a trickle of flour was escaping from the silk purse. And the next morning the king and queen were able to follow the trail - straight to the soldier.
"No common man can see my daughter and live!" said the king. "Tomorrow morning you will die." And he had the soldier thrown in prison.
At dawn, a huge crowd gathered outside the prison to see the soldier hanged. As the hangman put the noose around the soldier’s neck, he turned to the king. "May I smoke my pipe before I die?" he pleaded.
The king agreed to his request, and the soldier took out his tinder-box and struck it.... once, twice, three times. "Save me, my faithful dogs! Save me!"
Everyone shrank back in amazement as the three strange dogs bounded to the soldier’s side. One had eyes as big as saucers. Another had eyes as big as dinner plates. The third had eyes as big as cartwheels. And all three pounced on the king and queen and tossed them high in the air.
They flew so high that they never came down, and the crowd begged the soldier to be their new king and to marry the princess.
"The fortune-teller said that the princess would marry a common soldier - and so she shall," he said. Then he invited everyone to a banquet where the magic dogs were the guests of honor. And when the dogs saw the great feast laid out in front of them, their eyes grew larger than ever!
Story Time � 1984-1989 by Rubicon Press CC