Latest / Abide Meditation App / ⭐Magical Sleepy Fairytale for Grown Ups⭐The Sleeping Castle ⭐Classic Fairytale for Sleep

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⭐Magical Sleepy Fairytale for Grown Ups⭐The Sleeping Castle ⭐Classic Fairytale for Sleep · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where we listen, we relax,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: and we get sleepy. I'm Tom, your host. Thanks for
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: tuning in. I'm excited to let you know that this week,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: in addition to our usual schedule of episodes, we'll also
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: have a bonus episode in honor of World Sleep Day
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: on Friday. It's a very special meditation where we will
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: all have the chance to share in the comfort and
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: reassurance of good rest. As for tonight, our story is
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: inspired by a fairy tale once collected by the Brothers Grimm.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: It's about two brothers who set off from their humble
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: village to find an enchanted castle and win the ultimate prize.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: As the proverb goes however you reap what you sow
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: and the very different approaches they take to the same
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: journey end up greatly affecting their fate. Let's settle in
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and unwind ready for our enchanting adventure this evening. Allow
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: your body To settle into the coziness of your bed.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Sense the stillness of the space around you. Enjoying the
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: peace and quiet of night. Whatever today was like. Be
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: it busy and full on. Or maybe steady and leisurely.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: You can leave it behind now. Today's journey is at
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: its end. So gently take your foot off the pedal
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: of activity. Allowing any racing thoughts to slow down and rest.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: And allowing any leftover energy in your body To also
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: slow down. And rest. You've done enough for today. And
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: you needn't look ahead to tomorrow either. The only intention
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: in this moment. Should be to enjoy the comfort of
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: your bed. To relax your body. And ease your mind. Then,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: you can invite your imagination to guide you through our
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: story as you listen along. Feel free to drift off
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: whenever the pull of sleep comes your way. Now, picture
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: a village nestled in a lush green woodland. The tranquil
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: hum of nature surrounds the village, and it's within one
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: of its humble cottages where our story begins. There was
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: once a leather worker who had two sons. The elder
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: was named Ludwig and the younger was named Johan. The
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: boys had grown up assisting their father in his trade.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: They knew that the work was difficult, the hours were
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: long and the income was small. As they came of age,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: they both began to secretly wish they could spread their wings.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: They loved and respected their father, but they had dreams
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: of their own, and were curious to explore a different
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: path in life. One day, their father was mending the
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: shoe of a passing traveler. While the stranger was waiting,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: he entertained Johan and Ludwig with some stories from his journey,
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: which sounded very grand and exciting. Neither of the boys
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: had ever experienced life beyond the woods around their village.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: The traveler told many an eye-opening tale from the road,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: but there was one in particular that interested Ludwig. According
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: to their guest, there was a distant castle very deep
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: in the forest, where the entire court had been enchanted
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: and fallen into a deep sleep. Rumor had it that
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: at the center of the castle was a beautiful sleeping princess,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: and many a wishful suitor had attempted to reach her
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: to no avail. In fact, no man who had ever
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: entered the castle had been known to return. This was
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: quite a pity for all of them, because it was
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: widely believed that the princess and her future husband would
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: inherit the castle and all its lands and riches, if
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: only she and her court could be awakened. Ludwig was
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: a clever boy who had a rather high opinion of himself,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: and he was looking for a way out of the
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: family trade. this enchanted princess seemed like an opportunity too
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: good to miss. When the traveler had paid for his
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: mended shoe and retired to the inn for the night,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Ludwig went to speak with his father and brother. He
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: told them he would pack himself a bag of provisions
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: and set out to find the enchanted castle the very
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: next morning. Johan did not wish to be a leather
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: craftsman either, but he tried to dissuade Ludwig from taking
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: on this adventure. Even if you are able to find
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: the enchanted castle, he said to his brother, what makes
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: you think you can succeed in breaking this spell when
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: so many before you have failed? But Ludwig was not
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: the type of boy to trouble himself with such limiting details.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: You're just envious that I'll be having an adventure, he replied.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Johann continued to speak sense to Ludwig, but the older
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: boy could not be talked out of the trip. If
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: you must go, Johann finally said. then I will come
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: with you. After all, two heads are better than one.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Ludwig considered his younger brother to be naive and did
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: not think he would be much help, but he shrugged indifferently.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Do as you please, he responded, but do not think
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: you will marry the princess instead of me. Then the
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: two brothers went to bed, for they would need a
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: good night's rest before leaving in the morning. When the
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: sun rose, the two brothers each packed a bag with
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: a loaf of bread, some cheese, and enough water to drink.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: Their father was a bit teary-eyed. to bid his sons farewell,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: not knowing what they would encounter. He embraced them both,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: saying to Ludwig, take care of Johan, he is not
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: as clever or brave as you are. With that, Ludwig
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: and Johan left their father's cottage, walked to the edge
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: of the village and followed the path straight into the woods.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: By midday, when the sun was at its highest in
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: the sky, Ludwig and Johann had gone farther from their
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: village than they had ever been before. The path through
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: the woods continued, but the foliage was increasingly dense as
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: they plunged deeper into the heart of the forest. On
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: the fringe of the woods where they had started, the
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: birdsong had been abundant. But as they continued into the gloom,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: a heavy silence fell around them. Once in a while,
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: they heard a rustle in the underbrush, or a frog
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: singing in a stream, but they saw no other people.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: As the day wore on, they came upon a massive
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: group of ants in the middle of the path. All
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: of the ants were busily engaged in building and carrying
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: tiny bits of food. Johan's instinct was to give the
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: ants a wide berth and be on his way. Ludwig, however,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: nudged the anthill with his foot and disturbed it as
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: he passed. Why did you do that? Johan said. Why not?
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Ludwig responded with a smirk. They're just ants and they
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: probably bite. Ludwig kept walking as if nothing had happened,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: but Johan couldn't bear to leave the anthill so unsettled.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: He put down his bag and gingerly pushed the fallen
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: part of the anthill back in place. To his relief,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: the ants did not bite him. Sorry about that. Johan
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: said quietly to the ants. Then he picked up his
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: bag and ran to catch up with Ludwig. The two
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: brothers walked onward through the darkening woods as the sun
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: moved lower in the sky. They no longer knew where
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: they were. The path always continued. winding through the oddly
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: shaped boulders and over small bubbling streams. Even their footsteps
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: on the moss made no noise as they traveled. Finally,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: as twilight fell, the trees opened to a clearing, and
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: they found themselves looking at a shining lake. In the
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: light of the setting sun, Johan could see a small
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: flock of ducks gathered a little way down the shore.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Some were paddling happily, and others were sitting near the
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: edge of the water. What good luck, Ludwig said with delight.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: We can steal eggs from the ducks for our dinner.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Johan looked at him with dismay. Why would you steal
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: their eggs when you brought bread and cheese for yourself?
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: he asked his brother. Ludwig looked at him with disdain.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: They can always lay more eggs, he scoffed. As Johan watched,
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Ludwig walked towards the ducks and scattered them casting about
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: to see if he could find their nests. Alas, he
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: didn't unearth a single egg. In bad humor, he returned
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: to a spot under a nearby tree and sullenly ate
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: some of the food from his bag. Johan observed the
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: ducks as they reconvened on the shore of the lake.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: smoothing their ruffled feathers. Cautiously, he approached them, and then
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: he tore a piece from his loaf of bread and
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: scattered the crumbs lightly in their direction. I'm sorry about
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: the disturbance, he called quietly to them. The ducks cautiously
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: nibbled at the crumbs, and Johan retired under his own
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: tree to eat the rest of his dinner and make
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: himself comfortable for the night. In the morning there was
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: no sign of the ducks and Ludwig did not bother
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: to seek any eggs. The two brothers ate a few
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: bites of food, drank from their water bottles and picked
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: up their bags once again. They followed the path around
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: the edge of the lake and continued their journey through
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: the heart of the forest. By noon, they were feeling
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: tired and hot and they stopped by the side of
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the path to rest and drink some water. After a moment,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: They both noticed a low hum coming from a nearby
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: hollow in a tree. Investigating the source of the sound,
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: they discovered a massive hive of honeybees inside. What good luck,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: Ludwig said. Just when we're beginning to get low on food,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: we've stumbled across a treasure trove of honey. Let's light
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: a fire to smoke out the bees and find ourselves
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: some lunch. But Johan felt bad about the idea of
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: stealing honey from the bees. Furthermore, he knew he and
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: Ludwig were likely to damage the hive in the process.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: He had to admit he was hungry, but he couldn't
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: bring himself to do it. Ludwig was frustrated by his
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: brother's reluctance. So Johann placated him by offering him the
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: rest of his food. You can have my last pieces
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: of bread and cheese, he said. Just leave the bees alone.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: You are a fool, the older brother said, taking the
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: food from him. If you insist on going hungry, I
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: won't argue. With that, Ludwig walked away from the hive
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: and enjoyed the last of Johan's food on a nearby rock.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Johan lingered for a moment at the hive and whispered,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Enjoy your honey, Queen Bee. Then, He found a spot
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: under a nearby tree and managed with just water for lunch.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: The brothers walked on. They slept under trees, woke and
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: continued down the path the next day. They were now
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: both completely out of provisions. and had to fill their
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: bellies with water they collected at streams, and berries they
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: were able to harvest from bushes along the path. Just
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: when they thought they'd be spending a hungry night sleeping
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: under the trees again, the path widened to a clearing,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: and a huge iron gate rose before them. Behind it,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: down a long, weed-choked walkway, was a stone castle. There
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: was no sign of people anywhere. It seemed like the
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: castle slept, just as the traveller had told them in
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: his story. The massive old gate was partway opened, Johan
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: felt a bit nervous, just forging ahead onto the castle. grounds.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: But Ludwig had no such concerns. Glad to have reached
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: his destination, the older brother strode confidently ahead. Taking a
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: deep breath to calm his nerves, Johan followed, peering around
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: him as the two moved towards the ancient-looking door at
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: the front steps. When they reached the front of the castle,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: Ludwig tried the door handle and found it to be locked.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: There was a little window in the door, however. and
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: the two brothers peered through the ironwork that covered it
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: and squinted as their eyes adjusted to the gloom inside.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: They found themselves looking at a vast, empty entrance hall.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: Suits of armor stood in quiet vigilance, covered in dust
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: and cobwebs. There was no sign of life. Undaunted, Ludwig
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: took a step back and spied an enormous iron door
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: knocker in the shape of a gargoyle. Without hesitating, he
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: pulled on the heavy knocker and let it fall. Johan
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: felt like they were disturbing the peace. but they both
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: watched through the little window to see if anyone would come.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Moments seemed like hours, but finally there was some movement
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: at the back of the dark hall. From the depths
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: of the castle, an old woman appeared, shuffling toward the
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: door with no hurry. As she neared their little window,
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: they both stepped back and stood straighter, preparing for her
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: to open the door. Johan wondered briefly what they would say. Perhaps, Hello,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: strange lady. We've come to break the spell on your castle.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Or was it better to just pretend they were weary
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: travelers seeking a meal. He had not given this part
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: of the adventure any forethought. As it turned out, he
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: needn't have worried about saying anything. The door creaked open slowly, and,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: as if they had been expected, without any expression of surprise,
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: the old woman gestured that the brothers should enter the hall.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: They stepped into the cavernous interior and waited a bit
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: uneasily as she swung the door shut behind them, extinguishing
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: the light and their last chance of exit. Then, the
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: woman shuffled around them and walked back in the direction
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: she had come, into the dark hallway between the wide,
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: curving entryway staircases and to the unknown reaches of the castle.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Ludwig and Johan walked behind her, trying not to trip
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: on the flagstones in the dark. Up ahead, they could
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: see a closed door with an interior light illuminating its edges.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: When their host reached the door, she opened it. Inside,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: illuminated by cheerful firelight, was a very long table, richly
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: laid with a delicious feast of cheese, meats, and other delicacies.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: There were just two seats at the table. Without any expression,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: the woman gestured that they should sit, and she left
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: the room again. Johan was a bit nervous to immediately
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: start eating magical food in an enchanted castle, but Ludwig
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: did not appear bothered. He grinned broadly and set upon
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: the feast with great gusto. Seeing that his brother wasn't
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: suffering any ill effects from his dinner, Johan gave in
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: to his hunger and took the other chair. They ate
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: until they couldn't finish another bite, and then they sat
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: back in their soft, upholstered chairs, enjoying the warmth of
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: the crackling fire. Without realizing it, they both fell into
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: a comfortable, dreamless sleep and stayed that way until morning.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: When they awakened, the fire was out and everything that
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: had been on the table was gone. They heard the
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: door opening and turned to see the same old woman,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: lit from behind by the morning light from the distant
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: entry hall. Without any greeting, she spoke. In order to
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: break the enchantment of this castle, you will have to
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: pass three tests. I do not suggest you undertake these lightly,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: because nobody has passed even the first one Many men
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: have tried and failed. Those who do not succeed fall
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: under the enchantment. They are all sleeping here in the
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: castle now, and they won't awaken until the spell is broken.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Hearing this, Johan felt concerned. After all, the odds of
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: succeeding at this task did not seem good, and why
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: should he be any more clever or lucky than the
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: last man? Ludwig, however, had immense confidence in his own abilities.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: He stepped forward and arrogantly announced that he was ready
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: to take on the first task The old woman shrugged
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: and motioned for Ludwig to follow her. She led him
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: down some winding hallways, through the deserted castle kitchen, and
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: then out a back door to what must once have
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: been a thriving kitchen garden. Ludwig stood and surveyed the
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: plot now overgrown with vines, grass, and weeds. There are
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: a thousand seeds scattered in this garden, the woman told him.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: You have until nightfall to find every single one. Even
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: if you find only 999 seeds, you will fail the
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: task and fall under the enchantment. Then, without ceremony, the
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: woman turned and went back inside the castle. Ludwig got
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: to work. He tore aside vines and rooted through weedy patches.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: Here and there he found a seed and slipped it
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: into his pocket. He did this without stopping. for food, drink,
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: or rest all day long. As the sun dropped low
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: in the sky, he took stock of the seeds in
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: his pocket and found he had less than 200 He
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: tried to work faster as the light slipped away. He
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: pulled up grass and grabbed in the dirt. However, it
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: was to no avail. As the sun dropped below the horizon,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Ludwig went back inside the castle, hoping to bargain with
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: the old woman. for a few more hours. But he
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: didn't even get as far as the room where Johan
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: awaited him. He fell deep asleep on a bench in
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: the hall. Ludwig had failed the test. Meanwhile, Johan was
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: alone in the room with the fireplace. He did not
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: know what had happened to his brother, but the table
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: set itself with a magical feast again at dinner time.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: A crackling fire materialized in the large stone fireplace and
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: warmly illuminated a table full of meats, cheeses, and delicacies.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: just like it had the night before. Johan was very hungry,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: so he sat by himself and ate a generous dinner. Then,
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: just like he'd done the night before, he succumbed to
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: the warmth of the fire and the fullness of his belly.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: Allowing his worries to rest for the night, he slumbered
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: peacefully again in his comfortable chair. In the morning, the
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: old woman appeared in the door. Your brother has failed
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: the first task, and he is now deeply asleep, she
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: told Johan. Are you willing to attempt the task, or
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: will you choose to leave the castle and save yourself?
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: In all honesty, Johan was quite afraid to attempt this test. However,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: he wasn't sure if he could live with himself if
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: he abandoned his brother to eternal enchantment. It didn't take
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: long for him to make this decision. I will attempt
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: the task, he responded. The old woman did not reveal
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: whether she thought this was a wise choice or a
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: foolish one. Instead, she turned and walked out of the room,
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: clearly expecting Johan to follow her. When they reached the
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: castle garden, she gave the same instructions she had spoken
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: to Ludwig the day before. Find all one thousand seeds
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: before nightfall, she said. Otherwise, you will join your brother
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: in perpetual dreams. Johan felt a sense of hopelessness. as
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: he surveyed the terribly overgrown garden. How could he possibly
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: find a thousand seeds there? For a time, he tugged
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: at vines and pushed through the grasses, picking up seeds
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: here and there. After an hour, however, he could easily
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: see that this pace would never do, and he sat
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: on the steps to the kitchen and put his head
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: in his hands. He didn't know how long he sat
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: that way, but after a while, he looked up to
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: see some small movements out of the corner of his eye.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: As he watched, a few ants crawled up onto the
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: step and deposited individual seeds at his side. With astonishment,
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: he realized the line of ants was growing. They were
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: crawling all over the garden and depositing the seeds in
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: the growing hill next to him on the steps. Relief
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: flooded him as he realized that he might not fail
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: this task after all. Exactly one thousand seeds were resting
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: in his pile by the time twilight fell. He had
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: rebuilt their anthill for them, and now they had made
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: a special hill of precious seeds for him in return.
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: Thanks to his animal friends, he had passed the first test.
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: That night, Johan feasted at the magical table with a
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: mixture of happiness and concern. He was delighted to have
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: succeeded at collecting the seeds, but he was also nervous
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: about what the second task would be. He didn't have
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: long to wait before he would find out. In the morning,
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: the old woman reappeared and motioned for him to follow her. Again,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: they exited the house through the kitchen door. This time,
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: they proceeded through the weedy kitchen garden. and then followed
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: a wide path around the side of the castle, where
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: Johan saw a large lake. The lake had obviously been
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: very pretty at one time. There were elegant benches here
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: and there, with intricate trellises covering them. Roses now ran rampant,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: unchecked by pruning for a very long time. Bushes that
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: had once been trimmed into fanciful shapes were now completely
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: ragged and overgrown. A fountain in the middle of the
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: lake lay silent, covered in moss. The lake itself was
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: covered with lily pads and algae, The woman gestured at
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: the water. Somewhere at the bottom of this lake, there
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: is a key that will open the door to our
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: sleeping princess. You have until nightfall to find that key,
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: or else you will fail the test and fall into
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: a deep sleep, like your brother and all the suitors
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: before him. Without any further help or explanation, the woman
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: turned and walked back toward the castle. Johan looked hopelessly
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: at the lake. Knowing that the only option was to
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: begin searching, he waded unsteadily ahead. Immediately, His shoes sank
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: into the mud underneath the water, and the algae collected
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: around his knees. Not only was it hard to walk,
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: but he couldn't see anything in the murky depths of
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: the lake. After a few minutes, he returned to dry land,
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: pulling his mud-filled shoes with him He sat hopelessly on
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: a nearby bench, agonizing over his situation. As he desperately
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: tried to think of a solution, some ducks flew into view.
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: Circling the lake, they descended, swimming delicately among the lily
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: pads and dunking their feathered heads beneath the water. Soon,
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: an entire flock was there, splashing and swimming. The birds
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: did this for hours, slowly making their way around the
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: entire lake Finally, as the sun drew lower in the sky,
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: one of the ducks waddled up onto the shoreline and
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: stepped delicately toward Johann, where he sat on the bench.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: In its bill was a golden key. Johann gratefully took
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: the key from the duck and shed some tears of relief.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: Seeing that their work was done, the rest of the
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: ducks rose from the water and flew off into the sunset.
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: They had repaid their debt to the brother who had
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: helped them a few days ago. Johan had passed the
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: second test. Just like he had on the previous two nights,
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Johan ate well at the magical dinner table and slept
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: in his chair. When the old woman appeared in the morning, however,
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: he was very nervous. He felt he'd been lucky with
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: the help he'd received for his first two tasks. He
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: couldn't imagine how he would pass the third one This time,
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: the woman did not lead him to the kitchen. Rather,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: she indicated that he should accompany her up one of
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: the large, curving staircases to the highest reaches of the castle.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: He followed her echoing steps through a long, dusty corridor.
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: Stopping in front of a cobweb-covered door at the end,
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: she produced the key the ducks had found in the
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: lake yesterday. She inserted the key in the lock and
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: turned it, and the door groaned in protest as it
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: was pushed open. Johan stepped into the doorway, and surveyed
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: the interior. The room was lit by very tall windows.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: Straight ahead, there was a large canopied bed, draped in velvet.
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: Dust motes drifted across the sunbeams that struggled through the
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: dirty window glass. It looked as if nobody had been
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: in this room for a long time. After a moment,
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: Johan realized there were three lovely maidens lying in the
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: large bed. All of them wore identical white nightdresses. They
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: were fast asleep. One of these sleeping maidens is the princess,
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: the woman said. The other two are her ladies-in-waiting. On
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: the day that they were enchanted, they each had a
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: sweet after dinner. The two ladies-in-waiting each chose little candies
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: made with white sugar. However, the princess preferred honey, and
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: she ate a honey cake. To break the enchantment, you
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: must wake the real princess with a kiss. If you
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: choose the wrong girl, all will be lost, and you
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: will join your brother and the rest of the castle
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: in sleep. Johan was very concerned about this last test.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: How was he to know which of these identically attired
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: maidens was royalty or who had eaten honey cake? He
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: stood in front of the bed and wondered how he
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: would make his choice. As he pondered his fate he
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: became aware of a hum near his ear. Turning, he
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: saw that it was a honeybee, and judging by her appearance,
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: she was a special one. In fact, it was the
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: queen bee who had entered the chamber, and was now
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: hovering over the maidens on the bed. Johan watched silently
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: as the bee moved lightly from one girl to another,
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: never landing but hovering briefly over each. After a few moments,
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: the queen bee returned to the maiden at the far
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: left of the bed. As Johan watched, the bee slowly
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: circled over her head, three times. He knew what this meant.
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: That maiden had eaten honey cake. Her task accomplished, the
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: queen bee flew once around the room and then disappeared
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: through the open door. Johan approached the maiden on the
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: left of the bed and gently kissed her on the cheek.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: As he stood up, waiting for something to happen, the
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: sun seemed to fill the room and birdsong drifted anew
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: through the tall windows. As he watched the princess fluttered
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: her eyes once, twice, and opened them. As her vision
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: focused on Johan, a puzzled look spread across her face,
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: and she said, goodness, I've had the strangest dream. That day,
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: the entire castle awakened. The people of the court didn't
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: really remember what had happened, or how long they'd been sleeping.
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: All the failed suitors, of course, had one final memory
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: of not finding a thousand seeds, and they were rather
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: ashamed about that. Still, the king ordered that the cobwebs
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: be cleared, and the magical table produced a grand feast
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: for everyone to attend that night. Everyone from the scullery
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: maid to the king thanked Johann for his brave efforts,
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: and he and the princess discussed their mutual love for Kate.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: Most of the unsuccessful suitors left the castle that night,
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: but Ludwig stayed to see his brother Johann and the
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: princess happily married. After his humbling adventure, he was a
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: changed man with a much smaller ego. As it happened
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: one of the ladies-in-waiting took a shine to him and
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: they were eventually betrothed as well. So it was that
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: both Johann and Ludwig lived happily ever after in the castle.
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: They sent for their father to come and live out
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: his days with them in comfort. And they were all
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: often seen scattering breadcrumbs for the ducks, protecting the beehives,
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: and making way for ants crossing the path.
• 50:13
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for watching.
• 52:30
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for watching.
• 54:04
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.