# The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs explained — Household Tales > Chapter companion for Household Tales by Jacob Grimm. ## What happens A poor woman gives birth to a luck-child with a caul, prophesied to marry the king's daughter at fourteen. The king, angered, throws the child into water, but he is rescued by a miller and raised. Years later, the king sends the youth with a letter ordering his death, but robbers alter it to command his marriage to the princess. The king then demands the devil's three golden hairs as a condition. The youth journeys to hell, where the devil's grandmother helps him obtain the hairs and answers to three riddles. He returns with gold, marries the princess, and tricks the greedy king into becoming the ferryman forever. ## Themes in this chapter ### Transformation and Redemption The luck-child transforms from a discarded infant to a prince, while the king's greed leads to his eternal punishment as a ferryman. ### Greed and Its Downfall The king's greed for gold drives him to seek the ferryman's treasure, resulting in his perpetual servitude. ### Promises and Their Consequences The king's promise to let the luck-child marry his daughter after fulfilling the condition backfires, leading to the king's own downfall. ## Character check-ins ### the luck-child The protagonist, born with a caul and prophesied to marry the princess; survives the king's attempts to kill him and succeeds in obtaining the devil's three golden hairs. ### the king The antagonist who tries to prevent the prophecy by throwing the child into water and later ordering his death; ultimately becomes the ferryman as punishment. ### the princess The king's daughter, who marries the luck-child after the altered letter and later welcomes him home. ### the Devil The infernal being whose three golden hairs are sought; he reveals answers to the riddles in his sleep. ### the ferryman The ferryman who is cursed to row endlessly until someone takes the oar from him; freed by the luck-child's advice. ## Key lines > There was once a poor woman who gave birth to a little son; and as he came into the world with a caul on, it was predicted that in his fourteenth year he would have the King’s daughter for his wife. A poor woman bore a son with a caul, foretelling that at fourteen he would marry the king's daughter. _Sets up the prophecy that drives the plot._ > The King, who had a bad heart, and was angry about the prophecy, went to the parents, and, seeming quite friendly, said, 'You poor people, let me have your child, and I will take care of it.' The king, angered by the prophecy, pretended to be kind and took the child from the parents. _Reveals the king's deceitful nature._ > The King put it in a box and rode away with it until he came to a deep piece of water; then he threw the box into it and thought, 'I have freed my daughter from her unlooked-for suitor.' The king placed the child in a box and threw it into deep water, believing he had eliminated the prophesied suitor. _First attempt by the king to prevent the prophecy._ > The box, however, did not sink, but floated like a boat, and not a drop of water made its way into it. The box floated like a boat and stayed dry, preserving the child. _The luck-child's miraculous survival._ > Then the King knew that it was none other than the luck-child which he had thrown into the water, and he said, 'My good people, could not the youth take a letter to the Queen; I will give him two gold pieces as a reward?' The king recognized the youth and devised a plan to send him with a letter ordering his death. _Second attempt by the king to kill the luck-child._ > The robbers opened the letter and read it, and in it was written that the boy as soon as he arrived should be put to death. Then the hard-hearted robbers felt pity, and their leader tore up the letter and wrote another, saying, that as soon as the boy came, he should be married at once to the King’s daughter. The robbers, moved by pity, replaced the death order with a command for the boy to marry the princess. _The altered letter leads to the marriage._ > The grandmother spoke gently to him until he fell asleep again and snored. Then she took hold of the third golden hair and pulled it out. The devil's grandmother soothed him and pulled out the third golden hair while he slept. _The luck-child obtains the third golden hair._ > The greedy King set out in all haste, and when he came to the river he beckoned to the ferryman to put him across. The ferryman came and bade him get in, and when they got to the other shore he put the oar in his hand and sprang out. But from this time forth the King had to ferry, as a punishment for his sins. The greedy king hurried to the river, was ferried across, and then forced to take the oar, becoming the eternal ferryman as punishment. _The king's downfall and eternal punishment._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters/the-devil-with-the-three-golden-hairs - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters