He also turned into the same inn as his brothers , and when these saw him they assailed him with many entreaties to remain with them and share their merry life . But he answered that now , when he had found them , his next task was to get the bird Grip , for which his blind father was longing , and so he had not a single hour to spare with them in the inn . He then said farewell to his brothers , and rode on to find another inn in which to pass the night . When he had ridden a long way , and it began to grow dark , he came to a house which lay deep in the forest . Here he was received in a very friendly manner by the host , who put his horse into the stable , and led the prince himself into the guest-chamber , where he ordered a maid-servant to lay the cloth and set down the supper . It was now dark , and while the girl was laying the cloth and setting down the dishes , and the prince had begun to appease his hunger , he heard the most piteous shrieks and cries from the next room . He sprang up from the table and asked the girl what those cries were , and whether he had fallen into a den of robbers . The girl answered that these shrieks were heard every night , but it was no living being who uttered them ; it was a dead man , who life the host had taken because he could not pay for the meals he had had in the inn . The host further refused to bury the dead man , as he had left nothing to pay the expenses of the funeral , and every night he went and scourged the dead body of his victim . When she had said this she lifted the cover off one of the dishes , and the prince saw that there lay on it a knife and an axe . He understood then that the host meant to ask him by this what kind of death he preferred to die , unless he was willing to ransom his life with his money . He then summoned the host , gave him a large sum for his own life , and paid the dead man 's debt as well , besides paying him for burying the body , which the murderer now promised to attend to . The prince , however , felt that his life was not safe in this murderer 's den , and asked the maid to help him to escape that night . She replied that the attempt to do so might cost her her own life , as the key of the stable in which the prince 's horse stood lay under the host 's pillow ; but , as she herself was a prisoner there , she would help him to escape if he would take her along with him . He promised to do so , and they succeeded in getting away from the inn , and rode on until they came to another far away from it , where the prince got a good place for the girl before proceeding on his journey . As he now rode all alone through a forest there met him a fox , who greeted him in a friendly fashion , and asked him where he was going , and on what errand he was bent . The prince answered that his errand was too important to be confided to everyone that he met . ` You are right in that , ' said the fox , ` for it relates to the bird Grip , which you want to take and bring home to your blind father ; I could help you in this , but in that case you must follow my counsel . ' The prince thought that this was a good offer , especially as the fox was ready to go with him and show him the way to the castle , where the bird Grip sat in his cage , and so he promised to obey the fox 's instructions . When they had traversed the forest together they saw the castle at some distance .
Then the fox gave the prince three grains of gold , one XXXXX which he was to throw into the guard-room , another into the room where the bird Grip sat , and the third into its cage .
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