The Three Feathers
Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons, two of whom were clever and intelligent, but the third one did not talk very much, was simple minded, and the only name they gave him was the Simpleton.
When the king became old and weak, and thought that he was nearing his end, he did not know which of his sons should inherit the kingdom after him, so he said to them, "Go forth, and the one of you who brings me the finest carpet, he shall be king after my death."
So there would be no dispute among them, he led them to the front of his castle, blew three feathers into the air, and said, "As they fly, so shall you go."
The one feather flew to the east, the other to the west, and the third feather flew straight ahead, falling quickly to the ground after going only a short distance. The one brother went to the right, the other to the left, and they laughed at the Simpleton who had to stand there where the third feather had fallen.
The Simpleton sat down and was sad. Then he suddenly noticed that there was a trapdoor next to his feather. He lifted it up, found a stairway, and climbed down inside. He came to another door and knocked on it, upon which he heard someone calling out from within:
Maiden green and small,
Hopping toad,
Hopping toad's puppy,
Hop to and fro,
Quickly see who is outside.
The door opened, and he saw a big, fat toad sitting there, surrounded by a large number of little toads. The fat toad asked what he wanted.
The Simpleton answered, "I would like the most beautiful and finest carpet."
Then the fat toad called to a young toad, saying:
Maiden green and small,
Hopping toad,
Hopping toad's puppy,
Hop to and fro,
Bring me the large box.
The young toad brought the box, and the fat toad opened it, then gave the Simpleton a carpet from it. It was so beautiful and so fine, the like of which could never have been woven in the world above. He thanked the toad and climbed back out.
Now the other two thought that their brother was so stupid that he would not find anything to bring home.
"Why should we spend a lot of effort looking for a carpet?" they said, so they took some pieces of course cloth from the first shepherd's wife they came to, and took these back home to the king.
At the same time they returned home, the Simpleton arrived, bringing his beautiful carpet. When the king saw it, he was astounded, and said, "It is only right that the kingdom should go to my youngest son."
However, the two other sons gave their father no peace, saying that it would be impossible for the Simpleton to become king, because he lacked understanding in all things. They asked him to declare another contest.
Then the father said, "He who brings me the most beautiful ring shall inherit the kingdom." Leading the three brothers outside, he blew the three feathers into the air that they were to follow.
The two oldest brothers again went to the east and to the west, and the Simpleton's feather again flew s
