What happens next depends on the version of the story. One version says that the prince fights the forest creatures and wins; Lang's version, however, states that the forest was full of lions and tigers, and bears and wolves, who came rushing towards him; but instead of springing on him and tearing him to pieces, they lay down on the ground and licked his hands. Once the creatures are no longer a threat, the prince finds the apple tree; when his sword brushes against it, two apples fall. After taking the apples, he starts to leave the wood, but a little black dog leads him to a tiny hole in the hill, which the sword enlarges enough for the prince to enter. A princess of Arabia is chained to an iron pillar within; twelve robbers had captured her and were fighting over who would marry her. She further says that she had been imprisoned there for twenty years. A touch of the prince's sword breaks the chain, and he leads her through the forest to a port containing a ship bound for Arabia, pledging that if he is still alive the following year, he will come to Arabia and wed her. She gives him a ring as a pledge of their promise, and sails home.