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Tale Summary

There was once a king who had two handsome sons, who were so alike that none could tell them apart. The older of the two left on a journey, and gave his brother a small vial filled with water, and told him that if the water turned cloudy it meant he was ill, and if it turned red, it meant that he was dead. He had been on the road for some time when he reached a city where a beautiful young woman was queen, and before long he won her affection and soon became king. In the fall, the royal couple moved to a smaller castle at the edge of the forest, and one evening he noticed a castle which was nearby and asked�� his wife about it. She told him that it was an enchanted place that he must never visit, but the king's curiosity got the better of him.�� The next day he arranged for a hunt, taking his servants along with a tame lion, a bear, and a wolf. The queen had asked the servants to keep a close eye on him, but that night he got them drunk and slipped away with his animals. At the entrance of the strange castle he met an old woman asking for alms. She held her arms behind her so that he could not see them, and struck him with a hidden whip when he tried to help her. He and his animals were turned to stone. In the meantime, the servants realized that the king was gone, and the queen was devastated by this news. After some time had passed, the king's younger brother decided to look for him as the water in his vial was turning red. He reached the place where his brother's wife was, and soon realized what had happened. He fell in love with the queen, and took advantage of his resemblance to his brother, and dressed up as him to see her. All in the castle fell for his act, and for a time the two lived happily, until one day the younger brother asked her about the mysterious castle and the queen became suspicious. The new king arranged a hunt and put the servants to sleep with wine just like his brother had done, and found the stone statues at the gate. The old woman was still there and asked him for alms, but he threatened to kill her if she did not tell him what had happened to his brother. She tried to strike him with her whip, but he cut her hand off with his sword and picked up the whip for himself. He threatened her further, and she gave him a second whip which could disenchant the stone figures. He lifted the curse on his brother and his animals and all were very joyous, but soon the king learned that his brother had betrayed him and plunged a sword into his brother's chest. The queen and her true husband were very happy to have found each other, but sad about the younger brother’s violent death. A messenger told them that he had in fact survived because his little pet dog licked his wounds, and the two brothers realized that the horrible deed had been provoked by the old woman and they reconciled with one another. The true couple lived happily for many years and passed their kingdom to their children.

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