Von Hollas Rocken

Von Hollas Rocken by Eberhard König is a collection of fairy tales written in the early 20th century. The tales blend folk-humor, wonder, and brisk adventure, following tailors, peasants, soldiers, giants, princesses, and talking horses through clever trials, enchantments, and reversals of fortune. Readers can expect lively storytelling with wry twists and folkloric morality. The opening of this collection presents several distinct Märchen: a plucky tailor aided by three uncanny dogs defeats drunkard giants with charm-salve, a magic switch, and a summoning horn, then frees an enchanted king and two princesses; a gullible farmer is duped into brooding a “horse egg” (a pumpkin), only to chase a fox he thinks is his foal; a squad of deserters stumbles into a devil-guarded mountain castle, restores order, passes a midnight yarn-holding ordeal with visiting princesses, and breaks a spell—after recruiting a missing eighteenth man; a boastful noble loses a judge’s lying contest to a crafty farmer; and the strong Hans, borne by three shape-shifting horses, wins tourneys on the glass mountain, is secretly marked by the king’s sword, falls ill, and is ultimately recognized and wed to the princess, proving a just ruler. The next tale begins with a princess who will wed only the bringer of a golden apple from a living tree; a preening general procures one by dubious magic, but as he unveils it at court the scene erupts in scandal—and the excerpt breaks off there. (This is an automatically generated summary.)