Long, Broad and Sharpsight

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Long, Broad and Sharpsight or Long, Broad, and Quickeye is a Bohemian fairy tale, collected by Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves.

Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.

A. H. Wratislaw collected it in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 1.

Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Wizards by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A king with one son was growing old. He told his son he wished to see him married before he died. The son said he did not know a suitable bride. His father sent him a tower room that had not been opened in years. He found there windows showing beautiful women, and a curtain over one. He pulled away the curtain and fell in love with the woman he saw there. He told his father, who told him he should have left that window curtained, because the woman was the prisoner of an evil sorcerer, in an iron castle, but he had given his word and must try to rescue her.

On the way, he met a man who wanted to be taken into his service; his name was Long, and he could extend himself, and showed it by taking down a nest from a tree. The prince took him. He also met Broad, who could extend himself until he was as large as mountain, and Sharpsight, who kept his eyes bandaged because he could see through the bandage, and without it he would set things afire, or break them into piecers, and he took them into his service as well.

They reached the iron castle. As soon as they were inside, the gates closed. They found many men, turned to stone, and food. Because no one came, they ate. The sorcerer appeared with the woman and told them they could have the princess if they could keep her from escaping three nights. The prince tried to talk to her, but she did not answer. They fell asleep, she vanished, but Sharpsight spot her: she had turned into an acorn on an oak. Long brought her back. The next day, she became a precious stone on a mountain, but again Sharpsight saw her, and Long brought her back. The third night, she became a golden ring on a shell in the sea. Long brought Broad with him, and Broad, making himself broad, drank up the sea. Long got the ring. On the way back, he could not carry Broad but dropped him. All the water came out, and Broad barely managed to avoid drowning, but they made it back.

The sorcerer turned into a crow. All the people turned to stone came back to life. The prince took the woman home and married her. Long, Broad, and Sharpsight left his service and went on to seek their fortune.