altogether he was so curious to look at that the king locked him up
in a strong room and sent out letters of invitation to all the other
kings and princes asking them to come and see this wonder.

That was all very well; but the king had a little boy of ten years old
who went to look at the hairy man also, and the man begged so
hard to be set free that the boy took pity on him. He stole the key
of the strong room from his mother and opened the door. Then he
took the key back, but the hairy man escaped and went off into the
world.

Then the kings and princes began to arrive one after another, and all
were most anxious to see the hairy man; but he was gone! The king
nearly burst with rage and with the shame he felt. He questioned
his wife sharply, and told her that if she could not find and bring
back the hairy man he would put her in a hut made of rushes and
burn her there. The queen declared she had had nothing to do with
the matter; if her son had happened to take the key it had not been
with her knowledge.

So they fetched the little prince and asked him all sorts of questions,
and at last he owned that he had let the hairy man out. The king
ordered his servants to take the boy into the forest and to kill him
there, and to bring back part of his liver and lungs.

There was grief all over the palace when the king's command was
known, for he was a great favourite. But there was no help for it,
and they took the boy out into the forest. But the man was sorry
for him, and shot a dog and carried pieces of his lungs and liver to
the king, who was satisfied, and did not trouble himself any more.