Money Can Do Everything
Once upon a time, there was a young prince whose treasury was as boundless as the sea. He decided to build himself a palace—right across from the king's own palace, but even more beautiful. When the palace was completed, the prince ordered an inscription to be carved above the gates: "Money can do anything."One day, the king was out for a walk when he noticed the inscription. He immediately summoned the prince, who had recently settled in the city and had not yet been presented at court.
"Congratulations!" said the king. "The palace you've built is truly a marvel. Compared to it, mine looks like a hut! Congratulations! But tell me, was it you who ordered the inscription: 'Money can do anything'?"
The young man began to realize where his vanity had led him.
"My lord!" he replied. "If Your Majesty dislikes the inscription, I will order it to be scraped off at once!"
"No, no need for that! Just explain to me what this inscription means. Do you believe that with your money, you could even kill me?"
The prince understood the gravity of the situation.
"Oh! Your Majesty, forgive me... I will destroy the inscription immediately! And if you dislike the palace, just say the word, and I will reduce it to rubble."
"I already said I like it. Let it remain. But if you believe that money can do anything, prove it to me. I give you three days to manage to speak with my daughter. If you succeed, you may marry her. If you fail, I will have your head cut off. Do you agree?"
Despair overwhelmed the prince. He neither ate, nor drank, nor slept, thinking day and night of only one thing: how to save his head. There was no hope of seeing the king's daughter—she lived in a castle guarded by a hundred soldiers. On the second day, the prince sat down to write his will.
That day, his old nurse, who had cared for him as a child and whom he had allowed to live in the palace, came to see him. Seeing him so sad, she asked what was wrong. Word by word, he told her of the trouble he was in.
"Well, well," said the nurse. "You think all is lost? Good heavens, how funny! Leave this matter to me!"
She immediately hobbled off to the most famous silversmith in town and ordered him to make a hollow silver goose, slightly larger than a man. The goose had to be able to open and close its beak and had to be ready by the next day.
"By tomorrow? Are you mad?" exclaimed the silversmith.
"By tomorrow, without fail!" And the old woman showed him a large purse of gold coins. "Take this as a deposit, and tomorrow I will give you the rest."
The silversmith was so astonished he could hardly speak.
"Well, that's a different matter," he said. "I can try."
The next day, the goose was ready—not just a goose, but a marvel.
The old woman said to the prince, "Take your violin and climb inside the goose. As soon as we're out on the street, start playing."
And so they set off through the town. The old woman pulled the silver goose by a ribbon, while the prince, hidden inside, played the violin.
People were so amazed they could hardly believe their eyes. Everyone rushed to see the wonder.
Word of the silver goose reached the castle where the king's daughter lived, and she begged her father for permission to see the old woman and the goose.
"Tomorrow is the deadline for that braggart. Then you can go out and look at the goose as much as you like."
But the princess had already heard from someone that the old woman and the goose would be leaving town the next day. To allow his daughter to see it, the king had no choice but to permit the goose to be brought into the castle. This was exactly what the old nurse had hoped for.
As soon as the princess was alone with the silver goose, enchanted by the music flowing from its beak, the goose suddenly opened, and a man jumped out.
"Don't be afraid," he said. "I am the prince who must speak with you, or tomorrow morning I will lose my head by your father's command. You can save me if you say that you spoke with me..."
The next day, the king summoned the prince.
"Well? Did your money help you speak with my daughter?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied the young man. "Ask her yourself."
The princess was called, and she recounted how the young man had been inside the silver goose, which the king himself had allowed into the castle.
The king removed his crown and placed it on the prince's head.
"You have not only money but also a sharp mind. Be happy—I give you my daughter in marriage."
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