He hid the knife in the folds of his girdle , mounted his horse , and rode off in search of the meadow . This he found without much difficulty , but the horses were all so shy that they galloped away directly he approached them . Then he drew his knife , and held it up towards the sun , and directly there shone such a glory that the whole meadow was bathed in it . From all sides the horses rushed pressing round , and each one that passed him fell on its knees to do him honour . But he only chose from them all the three that the emperor had described . These he secured by a silken rope to his own horse , and then looked about for the cypress tree . It was standing by itself in one corner , and in a moment he was beside it , tearing away the earth with his knife . Deeper and deeper he dug , till far down , below the roots of brass , his knife struck upon the buried treasure , which lay heaped up in bags all around . With a great effort he lifted them from their hiding place , and laid them one by one on his horses ' backs , and when they could carry no more he led them back to the emperor . And when the emperor saw him , he wondered , but never guessed how it was the young man had been too clever for him , till the betrothal ceremony was over . Then he asked his newly made son-in-law what dowry he would require with his bride . To which the bridegroom made answer , ` Noble emperor ! all I desire is that I may have your daughter for my wife , and enjoy for ever the use of your enchanted knife . ' -LRB- Volksmarchen der Serben . -RRB- JESPER WHO HERDED THE HARES There was once a king who ruled over a kingdom somewhere between sunrise and sunset . It was as small as kingdoms usually were in old times , and when the king went up to the roof of his palace and took a look round he could see to the ends of it in every direction . But as it was all his own , he was very proud of it , and often wondered how it would get along without him . He had only one child , and that was a daughter , so he foresaw that she must be provided with a husband who would be fit to be king after him . Where to find one rich enough and clever enough to be a suitable match for the princess was what troubled him , and often kept him awake at night . At last he devised a plan .
He XXXXX a proclamation over all his kingdom -LRB- and asked his nearest neighbours to publish it in theirs as well -RRB- that whoever could bring him a dozen of the finest pearls the king had ever seen , and could perform certain tasks that would be set him , should have his daughter in marriage and in due time succeed to the throne .
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