Chapter 1 The Tale of the Boy Who Learned Fear There once lived a man who had two sons.
The older boy was smart and very good at his chores.
The younger boy was very strong but had trouble learning.
Sometimes the man would ask his older son to fetch something in the dark or walk into town through the graveyard.
The older boy always said Oh father, I can't.
I'm just too afraid.
He was terrified of dark, spooky places.
The younger son was not.
While the man loved both of his sons, he never asked the younger boy for help with chores.
The boy always made a mess of things.
What am I going to do with you? his father would say.
In the evenings, the neighborhood would gather to tell scary stories around a fire.
The tales were so scary that they sent chills up and down the spines of all who listened.
The boy listened, too.
He noticed that all his neighbors, including his brother and father, would shudder during the scariest parts of the stories.
They cried, That makes me shudder.
The boy couldn't figure out what this meant.
He wondered, why do they all shudder?
Then the boy had an idea.
He thought, maybe that's what I need to do.
I need to learn how to shudder like my brother.
He always does everything right.
Many months passed.
Still the boy wondered why everyone except for him knew how to shudder.
He grew taller and his shoulders grew wider.
Still he couldn't figure it out.
One day his father said to him, Son, you are growing up.
Soon you'll be a man.
You need to learn a trade.
You have seen how hard your older brother works.
Father.
The son said I would love to learn a trade, but first I think I need to learn how to shudder.
Everyone knows how except me.
His older brother laughed.
You are too foolish for your own good.
You'll never amount to anything.
Their father sighed.
Even if you figure out how to shudder, that will not put bread on your table, my son.
What am I going to do with you? his father said to his son.
The young man shrugged.
The next day the father said, Do you truly want to learn how to shudder?
Then you should set off into the world all alone.
That is the best way.
But you must not tell anyone who you are or where you came from.
You are a young man now, strong enough to take care of yourself.
I forbid you to ask for help.
You must be completely alone.
It's the only way you'll learn to shudder.
He gave his son a little bit of money and wished him well.
Soon the young man was walking down the road all by himself.
If only I could shudder, then I could go home again, he said to himself.
The young man walked into an inn to spend the night.
He asked for a room.
The innkeeper asked.
What's a young man like you doing out this way all by yourself?
The young man replied, I'm trying to learn how to shudder.
The innkeeper laughed.
Is that all?
Well, I can certainly help you.
The innkeeper's wife looked at her husband and said, I know what you're thinking right now.
Do not send this young man to that haunted castle.
I want to learn how to shudder, the young man said, sighing.
Please tell me.
The innkeeper told him the haunted castle wasn't far away.
If you can last three nights there, the king of this land will reward you.
He has great treasure and he is also willing to offer his daughter's hand in marriage.
The young man said, treasure and a pretty princess aren't important to me.
I just want to learn how to shudder.
The innkeeper continued, evil spirits guard the haunted castle where the king's riches are hidden.
The king himself used to live there, but a witch cast a spell on the castle.
It can only be broken if one brave person can last through three nights in the spooky palace.
The innkeeper's wife added, many have tried.
All have run away scared after a few hours.
The next day, the young man stood before the king.
He asked for a chance to spend three nights in the haunted castle.
The king looked at him for a long time, then gave his permission.
He said, You may take five objects with you.
What shall they be?
The young man thought for a moment, then replied, "'I will need matches and wood for a fire.
I would like a tool for cutting the wood if it's too big for the fireplace, and I will need a wood-covers bench with a good knife'.
The king's servants brought the objects to the young man.
They walked him to the haunted castle and then left, whispering to one another.
"'He will not even last the night,'
When night fell, the young man made a fire to keep warm.
He sat down on his bench and thought I can't see anything in this old castle that could make me shudder.
Midnight came.
The young man poked at the fire and yawned.
Two huge black cats crept out of the shadows and meowed.
We are freezing to death.
"'Silly cats,' the young man said.
"'I didn't see you there.
Come to the fire and get warm.'
They hissed as they jumped forward.
"'Do you want to play a game?' they asked.
Their eyes were fiery red.
"'First, show me your paws,' the young man looked at the size of their claws and said.
"'I'm not playing with a pair of you.'
Before either cat could scratch him, he grabbed them and tossed them outside.
Then he sat down by the fire.
Suddenly, cats and dogs with fiery eyes came out of every corner.
They moaned, groaned, and stomped on his fire.
The young man became angry.
"'Enough!' he shouted.
"'It's cold, and you're making it colder.
Stay away from my fire!'
Cats and dogs had never seen anyone who wasn't scared of them.
They scurried away, suddenly afraid.
Once they were gone, the young man built up his fire.
He grew sleepy, so he crawled into the giant bed in the corner.
But the moment he closed his eyes, the bed started shaking.
The bed lifted off the ground and flew all around the castle.
The young man laughed.
Keep going, he shouted.
What fun!
The bed flew through doors and bumped up and down the stairs.
Boom, crash, it turned upside down and landed on top of him.
The young man pulled himself from under the bed and said, what a great ride.
All the excitement made the young man tired.
He tugged the blanket and pillow from the overturned bed.
Then he lay down on his bench and fell asleep.
The next morning, the king expected to find the young man in a terrible state of fright.
When the king looked through the window, he saw the young man lying on the bench.
He said, What a shame.
This handsome young man didn't even make it through the first night.
The young man woke up as the king spoke.
Wait a minute, he said.
I'm still here.
I was just sleeping.
How did you do it? the king asked, shocked.
It wasn't hard at all.
I made a fire, tossed out some nasty cats and dogs, went for a ride on a bed, and fell asleep.
I didn't shudder even once.
The young man stretched.
But there are two more nights to go.
Night fell again.
The fire roared.
Terrible sounds came from all directions.
Suddenly there was a horrible cry.
An awful, pale, thin ghost slid down the chimney.
He landed right in front of the young man.
The young man stood up and said to the ghost, You seem to be shivering.
Come and sit with me by the fire.
The ghost tried to take the young man's bench.
No, you need to sit over there, the young man said.
He pushed the ghost onto the floor.
Suddenly, the room started to shake and rumble.
In an instant, many more ghosts appeared.
They were all carrying bags of skulls and bones.
Hurrah, the young man said.
Let's use those old bones to have a bowling game.
The young man and the ghost quickly set up the game.
They had a grand old time.
When the clock struck midnight, the ghosts disappeared.
The young man went to sleep for the night.
Once again, the king found the young man in the haunted castle in the morning.
What happened last night? he asked.
The young man replied, We had a terrific bowling game.
It was a fun time, even if the other players didn't talk much.
The king was amazed.
Hmm, let's see how tonight goes.
I hope I will finally learn to shudder.
This will be my last night in the castle, the young man replied.
The third night came.
A little before midnight the young man sat down on his bench and said If only I could find something to make me shudder.
At that very moment, an old man with a long white beard entered the room.
He said, If you don't pass my test, young man, you will surely die.
Follow me.
He led the young man down many dark hallways filled with cobwebs.
Finally, they came to an old door.
Behind the door was an axe in an iron block.
If you can prove you are stronger than I am, I will let you live, the old man said.
The young man laughed.
I'm very strong.
Always have been.
Look at the size of my shoulders.
Can you do this?
With the axe, the old man sliced into the iron block with one stroke.
Is that all?
The young man asked.
Watch.
He pulled the axe out of the block.
He swung it high above his head.
As it came crashing down, it broke the iron block into two pieces.
The old man was surprised.
No one has ever been strong enough to pass this test.
I will let you live.
Now, you must come with me.
They passed through another dark hallway.
Stopping at another door, the old man raised his bony finger.
He said, you spent three nights facing terrible things and you survived.
You have broken the spell on the king's haunted castle.
The old man opened the door.
Behind it were three chests of treasure.
One chest is for the poor, he said.
Another belongs to the king.
The last one is yours.
Thank you for showing me the treasure, the boy said.
I'm glad I could break the spell for the king, but the treasure is not important to me.
All I wanted was to learn how to shudder.
The clock struck midnight and the old man disappeared without another word.
The young man shrugged.
He thought, it's dark here, but I think I can find my way back to my warm room.
He felt his way along cold walls covered in spiderwebs.
Finally, he found the room where he had left the fire burning.
The young man fell asleep by the fire.
Again, the king found him the next morning.
You have broken the spell on my castle, the king said.
You have saved my kingdom.
You may marry my daughter.
I'm pleased that I have broken the terrible spell for you and I will gladly marry your daughter, but I still don't know how to shudder.
The king brought the young man back to his castle.
There he met the princess.
She was lovely and kind.
Their wedding was celebrated by the entire kingdom.
The young man was very happy, even though he never learned to shudder.
The young man honored the old ghost's words and gave one of the treasure chests to the poor.
The king was pleased to have his chest of treasure back.
He used it to fix up the castle that was no longer haunted.
I'm very lucky, the young man thought.
My father was right.
I did need to go out on my own to make my way in the world, but he was wrong about one thing.
I still haven't learned how to shudder.
Many years went by, and eventually the young man became king.
But it still bothered him that he had never learned to shudder.
He talked about it all the time to his wife, the queen.
The queen got very annoyed with hearing him complain about this silly thing.
She formed a plan.
Late one night, she filled up a bucket with cold water and slimy fish.
The young king was fast asleep.
The queen pleaded. the blankets and dumped the bucket on her sleeping husband.
The cold water shocked him awake.
The little fish wriggled all over his skin.
The young king jumped out of bed and shuddered like crazy.
The slimy fish had done the trick.
My dear wife, you've done it.
He said, hopping and shuddering around the room.
I finally learned how to shudder.
Now, help me get these slimy fish off me, in a hurry.
