There was once a King whose son was foretold to be killed by a stag at sixteen. When that age came, the prince went hunting. In the forest, he chased a great stag until they were out of the woods. Suddenly, the stag turned into a tall man who said, "It is well that I have thee. I have ruined six pairs of glass skates chasing thee." He took the prince through a lake to a palace and they ate together.
After the meal, the King said, "I have three daughters. Thou must watch over the eldest tonight from nine till six. Every hour I will call. If thou givest no answer, thou shalt die tomorrow. If thou always answerest, thou shalt have her to wife."
In the bedroom stood a stone image of St. Christopher. The princess said to it, "My father will call each hour. Answer him for the prince." The image nodded quickly, then slowly, until it stood still.
The next morning, the King said, "Thou hast done well, but I cannot give my daughter yet. Thou must watch my second daughter tonight." The same happened with a larger stone image.
The following morning, the King said, "Thou hast done well, but I cannot give my daughter yet. Thou must watch my youngest daughter tonight." This time, a much taller image nodded for half an hour.
The next day, the King set a new task: "Cut down my great forest by six tonight." He gave the prince a glass axe, wedge, and mallet. The tools broke immediately. At noon, the youngest princess brought him food. She comforted him, combed his hair until he slept, then summoned earth-workers with her handkerchief. They cut down the forest in three hours.
The King then demanded the prince clean a vast fish-pond by six, using a glass shovel. Again, the tool broke. The princess helped as before, and the earth-workers completed the task.
Finally, the King ordered the prince to clear a mountain of briars and build a strong castle on top by six, using glass tools. Once more, the princess summoned the earth-workers, who accomplished the impossible.
Still, the King refused to give his youngest daughter until her elder sisters were married. The prince and princess decided to run away. When pursued, the princess used magic to transform them: first into a briar and a rose, then into a church and a priest, and finally into a fish-pond and a fish. Her mother, the Queen, tried to catch the fish by drinking the pond but failed. Defeated, she gave her daughter three walnuts for her greatest need and let them go.
They traveled to the prince's kingdom. He left his beloved in a village while he went to his castle to fetch her with a carriage. However, his mother kissed him upon his return, making him forget everything. The princess waited in vain. She then took work at a mill near the castle.
Time passed. The Queen found another bride for her son. On the wedding day, the miller's maid (the princess) opened a walnut, revealing a beautiful dress. She wore it to the church, astonishing the bride, who demanded an equally fine dress. The princess offered it in exchange for sleeping one night outside the prince's door. That night, she lamented all their shared trials, but the prince was given a sleeping potion and heard nothing.
The next day, with a second, more beautiful dress from another walnut, the scene repeated. This time, a servant gave the prince a potion to keep him awake. He heard her lamentations and remembered everything. The next morning, he went to her. She opened the third walnut, revealing the most magnificent dress. They went to church together, were married, and the false mother and bride had to depart.