Once upon a time, there lived a woodcutter with his wife. On a fine spring morning the woman gave birth to a baby boy. By the time the lad turned thirteen years of age the woodcutter died.

The boy and his mother were very poor. Finally the young boy walked into the village looking for a job. There he came upon a dyer who hired him as an apprentice. He earned only very little as an apprentice but he always gave every penny to his mother.

Suddenly one morning, he turned to his mother: Mother, I had a dream last night.

Tell me all about it, my son.

I cannot talk about my dream before it is time, even if my life depends on it – he said.

Well, alright.

In the morning the boy went to see his master. Told him that he had had a dream, but he never revealed what his dream was about.

The master got angry and started beating his apprentice. The boy ran out to the street, but the master rushed after him with a whip in his hand.

At that very moment in time the king was passing by in his gilded carriage, and he called to the master: Hey you, why are you beating that young man?

The master told the king everything one by one. Finally the king ordered him to hand over the boy to him and he would find out what the dream was all about.

Once they got to the king's court, the young lad was literally bathed in milk and honey. Three weeks later the king summoned the boy and asked him how he felt being in the palace?

I quite like it here – replied the boy.

Well you see, son, I am trying my best to please you – said the king.

What about pleasing me a little?

Oh, your majesty, I will do whatever I can to please you but what can I do if it isn't possible?

All right then, all you should do is tell me what you dreamt the other night.

Oh, your majesty, that is an impossible task, because even if you take my life I cannot reveal my dream to you before it comes true.

And so it went on and on for seven years, but all in vain. Finally the king lost all hope and patience and had the boy walled in.

In the meantime, the king's daughter also grew up to be a beautiful girl. And she fell in love with the boy. She stole a purse filled with gold coins from her father, and gave it to the bricklayer.

She instructed the man to leave a small opening in the wall. Through that small opening she gave food to the young boy three times a day. She kept feeding him every day for another seven years.

In the meantime, the Turkish sultan announced, he wish to marry the princess, but the old king did not want to hear about it.

The sultan sent three identical donkeys to the king, asking him to identify the exact age of each animal, otherwise he would attack and destroy the king's country.

The king was frightened and he ran around asking everybody for a solution, but nobody was able to tell the exact age of the donkeys.

As the daughter was carrying lunch to the boy behind the wall, one day she told him what had happened.

In the end the boy told her not to worry. He told her to go home and sleep through the night. And when she awoke the next morning she should tell her father the following: Give the donkeys oats that are one, two and three years old. The animals will eat the oats that correspond with their own age.

And so it happened. The king was happy that he finally managed to save his country. But the Turk just couldn't rest. He wrote another letter to the king with a following message: This time I am sending you a stick with bludgeons on both ends – he wrote. If you cannot tell which is the upper and which is the lower end of the stick, I am going to have you decapitated.

The king's joy suddenly turned to sorrow. In the meantime the princess dreamt, that if they tied a single hair around the middle of the stick and lifted it, the lower end which was thicker would bend towards the ground.

They immediately sent a letter with the answer to the sultan. The sultan was so angry, he nearly had a fit, but he could still not rest. He sent another letter plus three pen knives, asking the king to identify which of the knives belonged to a gentleman, a soldier and to a peasant.

Once again the princess dreamed up the solution. She said that the knives should be stuck into the ground next to a burning fire. The one that smells like garlic belongs to a peasant. The one that smells of scent belongs to a gentleman. And finally the one that oozes blood must belong to the soldier.

The king was overjoyed and sent a letter to the Turkish sultan. The sultan never sent another letter. The king was curious to find out how his daughter always knew the right answers.

Finally his daughter confessed everything and the king ordered his men to tear down the wall. Everyone was happy and they held a magnificent wedding in the palace. As they were eating, the king once again asked the apprentice to tell him what his dream was all about?

This was my dream, your majesty – he said, pointing to his bride on the wedding ring. And they all live happily ever after.