Once more he asked a favour -- permission to play on his fiddle , and this the king was graciously pleased to grant . But with the first notes , the leg of every man in the crowd was lifted high , and they danced to the sound of the music the whole day till darkness fell , and there was no light to hang the musician by . The third day came , and the youth asked leave to play on his flute . ` No , no , ' said the king , ` you made me dance all day yesterday , and if I do it again it will certainly be my death . You shall play no more tunes . Quick ! the rope round his neck . ' At these words the young man looked so sorrowful that the courtiers said to the king : ` He is very young to die . Let him play a tune if it will make him happy . ' So , very unwillingly , the king gave him leave ; but first he had himself bound to a big fir tree , for fear that he should be made to dance . When he was made fast , the young man began to blow softly on his flute , and bound though he was , the king 's body moved to the sound , up and down the fir tree till his clothes were in tatters , and the skin nearly rubbed off his back . But the youth had no pity , and went on blowing , till suddenly the old magician appeared and asked : ` What danger are you in , my son , that you have sent for me ? ' ` They want to hang me , ' answered the young man ; ` the gallows are all ready and the hangman is only waiting for me to stop playing . ' ` Oh , I will put that right , ' said the magician ; and taking the gallows , he tore it up and flung it into the air , and no one knows where it came down . ` Who has ordered you to be hanged ? ' asked he . The young man pointed to the king , who was still bound to the fir ; and without wasting words the magician took hold of the tree also , and with a mighty heave both fir and man went spinning through the air , and vanished in the clouds after the gallows . Then the youth was declared to be free , and the people elected him for their king ; and the stable helper drowned himself from envy , for , after all , if it had not been for him the young man would have remained poor all the days of his life . -LSB- From Finnische Mahrchen . -RSB- The Strong Prince Once upon a time there lived a king who was so fond of wine that he could not go to sleep unless he knew he had a great flaskful tied to his bed-post .
All day long he drank XXXXX he was too stupid to attend to his business , and everything in the kingdom went to rack and ruin .
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