Once upon a time, a soldier was marching home from the wars. On the road, he met an ugly old witch.
'Good evening, Soldier!' she said. 'You ought to have as much money as you could carry. See that great hollow tree? Climb to the top, let yourself down inside, and you will find a hall lit by three hundred lamps. There are three doors. Behind each is a chest guarded by a dog. Use my blue-check apron to subdue them, and you may take all the copper, silver, or gold you desire. For me, just bring back an old tinder-box my grandmother left there.'
The soldier agreed. He climbed down and found everything as the witch described. In the first room, a dog with eyes as large as saucers guarded a chest of copper. The soldier spread the apron, placed the dog on it, and filled his pockets. In the second room, a dog with eyes like mill-wheels guarded silver. He took the silver and discarded the copper. In the third room, a terrifying dog with eyes as large as the Round Tower of Copenhagen guarded a mountain of gold. The soldier took as much gold as he could carry, stuffing his pockets, knapsack, cap, and boots.
He called for the witch to pull him up. She asked for the tinder-box, which he had forgotten. After retrieving it, he was hauled to the surface. When the witch demanded the box, the soldier refused, cut off her head, and kept both the gold and the tinder-box.
He went to town, lived lavishly, and soon spent all his gold, ending up poor in a tiny attic. One dark evening, he struck the tinder-box to make a light. To his astonishment, the dog from the first room appeared, asking, 'What does my lord command?' The soldier asked for money, and the dog instantly brought him a purse full of coins. He discovered that rubbing the box once summoned the copper dog, twice the silver dog, and three times the gold dog.
Now rich again, the soldier heard of a beautiful princess locked in a copper castle because of a prophecy that she would marry a common soldier. Using the tinder-box, he commanded the dog to bring the sleeping princess to him. He kissed her, and the dog returned her. The princess told her parents of a strange dream. The queen set a trap with buckwheat grains, which led the king to the soldier's room. He was captured and sentenced to hang.
On the scaffold, the soldier asked for a last pipe of tobacco. He took out his tinder-box and rubbed it three times. All three giant dogs appeared. At his command, they attacked the council, then the king and queen, throwing them high into the air. The people declared the soldier their new king. He married the princess, and the dogs joined the wedding feast.