Once upon a time, a witch in the shape of a hawk broke the windows of a village church every night. Three brothers in the village were determined to kill it. The two eldest tried guarding the church but fell into a magical sleep whenever the hawk appeared.
The youngest brother took his turn. To stay awake, he placed thorns under his chin. When sleep overcame him, the thorns pricked him awake just in time to see the hawk swoop down. He shot it, wounding its wing. The hawk fell under a large stone, revealing a hidden abyss.
Using ropes and torches, the youngest brother descended. At the bottom, he found a beautiful meadow with a stone castle. Inside, he met a lovely girl with golden hair that rang like metal when it fell. He fell in love and proposed. She accepted but warned she could not leave until her mother, the witch, was dead. The only weapon that could kill the witch was a heavy sword in the castle.
The youth found the sword but could not lift it. He met the girl's two sisters, one with silver hair. The third sister gave him three drops of a potion. After drinking them, he gained the strength to wield the sword.
He hid and waited. At dusk, the hawk-witch returned, transformed into a woman, and he beheaded her. He gathered the castle's treasures and the three sisters and signaled his brothers above to pull them up with a rope. Suspicious, he sent up a heavy stone first. His brothers dropped it, shattering it, proving their treachery.
Trapped and heartbroken, the youth wandered until he met a magician. The magician promised to return him to the world above if he would guard his children, hidden in a golden apple tree, from a serpent. At midnight, the youth killed the serpent. Grateful, the magician carried him back on his back.
The youth returned to his brothers' house. Only his golden-haired bride, now working as a cook, recognized him. His terrified brothers returned his treasures and fled. The kind youth forgave them, shared his wealth, built a castle with golden windows, and lived happily ever after with his wife.