Grimms' Fairy Tales

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went back and fetched three men to come with buckets and bale out the
water. When they could see to the bottom there lay a wild man whose body
was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to his
knees. They bound him with cords, and led him away to the castle. There
was great astonishment over the wild man; the king, however, had him put
in an iron cage in his courtyard, and forbade the door to be opened
on pain of death, and the queen herself was to take the key into her
keeping. And from this time forth everyone could again go into the
forest with safety.

The king had a son of eight years, who was once playing in the
courtyard, and while he was playing, his golden ball fell into the cage.
The boy ran thither and said: 'Give me my ball out.' 'Not till you have
opened the door for me,' answered the man. 'No,' said the boy, 'I will
not do that; the king has forbidden it,' and ran away. The next day he
again went and asked for his ball; the wild man said: 'Open my door,'
but the boy would not. On the third day the king had ridden out hunting,