Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who had three daughters. The king wanted his daughters to marry wealthy princes, and in the case of his first daughter and his second, they did. But the youngest princess fell in love with a poor man, and wanted to marry him. The king and queen opposed the marriage, but the princess went ahead and secretly married her beloved. And when this became known to the king, he was furious, and banished his daughter from the palace. Thereafter she lived happily but in poverty with her hus­band, whom she loved.

One day it happened that the king awoke and found that he had some­how become blind. He summoned doctors from all corners of the kingdom, but none of them could restore his sight. Then a doctor came from a distant city, who said he had heard that there was a special tree in the Land of No Return whose leaves could heal blindness. But, the doctor added, no one who had gone there to obtain those leaves had ever returned.

Even though the way to the tree of the healing leaves appeared to be fraught with danger, it was the king’s last hope. So he called on the two princes who were married to his daughters, and asked them to set out on the journey, and promised that if they succeeded they would each receive one third of his kingdom on their return. But he warned them not to come back empty-handed, or it would cost them their lives. Of course, the princes could not refuse to undertake such a journey, so after they had equipped themselves with speedy horses and many provisions, they set out on the quest for the healing leaves.

Meanwhile, when the king’s youngest daughter, who was married to the poor man, found out about her father’s blindness and the quest for the healing leaves, she asked her mother, the queen, to permit her husband also to join the search, on the same conditions as those set for the two princes. The queen took pity on her, and gave the poor lad a lame horse and meager provisions, and two weeks after the two princes had already departed, he too set out on the quest.

Now after the two princes had ridden for seven days, they reached the province that bordered the Land of No Return. There the princes were told: “Many are those who have tried to reach the area where the healing leaves can be found, but none of them has ever returned. It is said that the way to the tree on which the leaves grow is guarded by a dragon and a viper, who destroy all those who come within their reach.”

When the two princes heard this, they became frightened, and they did not want to continue the quest. But they knew they could not return empty-handed, or it would cost them their lives. Therefore they decided to stay at the place they had reached, and together they opened an inn there.

Two weeks later the lad who was married to the youngest princess ar­rived at their inn. He did not recognize them, nor did they recognize him, for they had never met. He stayed there that night, and in the morning he went about asking if anyone knew the way to the Land of No Return. So it was that he spoke to the same people who had warned the two princes. But the young man was not afraid, nor would he abandon the quest. And when the people saw that he was determined to go there, they told him that the only one who knew how to reach the tree of the healing leaves was a giant who lived in the valley below. But that giant himself was very terrible, and ate all those who came within his reach.

Still the lad was not afraid, and he mounted his horse and traveled to the valley that very day, and rode until he reached a house that was as high as a mountain. Another man would have been overcome with terror to see how high was the door of that house, but not the husband of the young­est daughter of the king. Without hesitation he approached the door and knocked on it. Then the wife of the giant opened the door, and when she saw it was a man, she told him to leave at once, for his life was in danger. But the lad insisted that he must talk to the giant, in order to find out how to reach the Land of No Return. And when she saw that he was determined to stay, she allowed him to come in and fed him and then hid him under the bed.

 

Before long the giant returned home, and as soon as he entered he de­clared: “Surely my nose does not deceive me—for I can smell the blood of a man even a mile away.” The giant’s wife tried to convince him that no man was foolish enough to come there, but the giant kept insisting it must be so, and at last she revealed that the lad was hidden under the bed. Then the lad came out, stood before the giant, and said: “Sir giant, you are my host and I am in your power. You can do with me whatever you like. But first let me tell you my story.” And the giant was amazed at his bravery and said: “Go on and tell me the tale.”

Then the lad told the giant about the blindness of the king, and how he had come in search of the healing leaves. And when the giant saw that he was willing to go to the Land of No Return, even though no one had ever come back from there, he said to him: “Since you do not tremble before me, and are not afraid to risk your life by entering the Land of No Return, I shall not kill you, for you are the first man I have met who is not a cow­ard.” Then the giant invited the lad to eat and sleep in his home, and so it was that the lad spent the night there as his guest.

Watch for part II of the story soon

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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