A young drummer was walking by a lake when he saw a beautiful dress and casually put it in his pocket.
That night, as he was falling asleep, he vaguely heard someone saying, “Give me back my dress!”
In his daze, he seemed to see someone standing by his bed.
Startled, the drummer shouted, “Who are you? What do you want?”
“You took my dress by the lake during the day. Please return it to me!”
The drummer then remembered and said, “I can return them, but first, tell me who you are.”
With a sigh, the person said, “I was once a princess who was captured by a witch and imprisoned in the Glass Mountain. I went to bathe in the lake during the day, and you took my dress. Without it, I can’t fly back. Please, return it to me.”
The drummer took the dress from his pocket and handed it over.
The person took the dress and turned to leave.
The drummer called out, “Wait! I can help you escape from the witch’s captivity.”
She sighed and said, “You can’t reach the the Glass Mountain. To get there, you must pass through the Forest of the Man-Eating Giants. They will kill you. Even if you make it, you can’t climb the mountain. You can’t help me.”
With that, she left. The drummer shouted after her, “I can definitely do it. Wait for me!”
At dawn, the drummer set out with his drum.
After a long journey, he finally arrived at the Forest of the Man-Eating Giants.
He entered the forest and, after a while, saw no giants.
Looking around, he said, “It seems these giants are lazy. I need to wake them up.”
So, he started beating his drum vigorously.
Sure enough, a giant appeared.
The giant looked around and finally saw the drummer, saying, “I see you, little dwarf, have some guts to enter our forest! And you even beat the drum loudly to wake us up! Do you know what the consequences are?”
“I’m beating the drum to guide my followers who are behind. There are over a thousand of them. We came here to kill you monsters. That’s the consequence!”
The giant almost laughed out loud, “To me, you’re like an ant. I could crush you with one finger, and you say you want to kill me?”
“We may be small, but we are agile. If you try to catch us, we’ll slip away like mudfish. If you try to sleep, we’ll swarm you like bees and smash your head with a hammer!”
The giant was a bit scared and thought, “I’m not afraid of tigers or wolves, but these cunning mudfish are really terrifying.”
So he said, “Let’s make a deal. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to satisfy you. Just don’t disturb us.”
“That’s smart! To be honest, I need to get to the The The Glass Mountain. It’s a bit far for me, but you giants have long limbs and could get there quickly. If you carry me to the the Glass Mountain, I’ll order my followers to retreat.”
The giant put the drummer on his shoulder and walked towards the Glass Mountain.
The drummer sat on the giant’s shoulder, happily drumming along.
The giant thought, “The drumming must be a signal for his followers to retreat.”
After a while, the giant handed the drummer over to another giant.
The second giant placed him on a button and continued towards the Glass Mountain.
Eventually, a third giant took over and placed the drummer on the brim of his hat.
They finally reached the Glass Mountain, and the giant set him down and left.
The drummer looked at the Glass Mountain in front of him and finally understood why it was called the Glass Mountain.
The entire mountain was as smooth as glass, and every step he took made him slide down.
It was impossible to climb up, which explained why the princess said even if he got there, he wouldn’t be able to climb it.
Just then, the drummer saw two people arguing over a saddle.
The drummer said, “How pointless to argue over a saddle. It’s not even a horse.”
“This saddle is faster than a horse. It’s not an ordinary saddle but a treasure. As long as you sit on it, you can go anywhere in the blink of an eye. It belongs to both of us, and it’s my turn to use it, but he won’t let me.”
The drummer had a sudden idea and said to the two, “I have a solution. Do you see that tree in the distance? Whoever reaches it first gets to use the saddle.”
The two immediately ran towards the tree.
The young drummer quickly mounted the saddle and flew up towards the Glass Mountain.
He loudly told the two that he had an important matter and needed to borrow the saddle.
Soon, the drummer reached the top of the Glass Mountain.
At the summit was a stone house with a fish pond outside.
An old woman with a hooked nose was sitting in front of the door.
She stood up, sharply scrutinized the drummer, and said, “No one has ever dared to climb the Glass Mountain, and no one has ever succeeded. Why did you come here?”
The drummer replied, “You must be the witch who captured the princess. I’ve come to find her and hope that you will let her go.”
The witch sneered, “You think you can save her? Fine. If you complete three tasks, I will release her.”
The drummer immediately agreed.
The witch took off the thimble from her finger and handed it to him, saying, “Use this thimble to drain the pond, then sort the fish by type and size. You must finish before dark!” With that, she left.
Looking at the tiny thimble, the drummer wondered how such a small object could possibly drain the large pond.
Just then, a maiden appeared out of nowhere, carrying a basket.
She said, “You’ve traveled a long way and must be hungry and tired. Eat something and rest. I will help you with this task.”
She opened the basket, which was full of various foods.
The drummer, indeed hungry and tired, ate the food.
As he ate, he thought, “This girl is so beautiful and her voice is so pleasant; I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
After the drummer fell asleep, the maiden turned the wishing-ring on her finger and said, “Water, rise up; fish, come out!”
Instantly, the water in the pond evaporated into clouds, and the fish jumped onto the shore, sorted by type and size.
When the drummer woke up, he was amazed and pleased to see that the pond was dry and the fish were sorted.
The maiden said, “There is one fish that hasn’t been classified. If the witch asks, throw it in her face and say, ‘This is for you, old witch!’”
That evening, the witch came and was surprised to see the task completed.
However, she soon noticed the unclassified fish and said, “You haven’t finished the task. Get down from the Glass Mountain immediately!”
The drummer followed the girl’s advice, threw the fish in the witch’s face, and said, “This fish is specifically for you, old witch!”
The witch glared at him and said, “Don’t get too smug. There are two more tasks, each more difficult than the last. Tomorrow, you must chop down all the trees in the forest, split them into firewood, and bundle them up. You must finish before dark!”
With that, she threw him an axe.
The next day, the drummer took the axe to the forest but found he couldn’t cut down any trees.
He realized the axe was blunt.
The drummer thought worriedly that it would be difficult to cut down the entire forest before dark. The axe was still blunt and it was impossible to cut down trees. This old witch was really making things difficult!
Just then, the beautiful maiden appeared again.
She still told him to go to sleep for a while, saying she would help him complete the task.
When the drummer fell asleep, the maiden turned her wishing-ring again, and the entire forest’s trees instantly fell with a crash.
These trees then automatically broke apart and bundled themselves into stacks.
When the drummer woke up, the maiden said to him, “The task is completed, but there is one log that wasn’t bundled. If the witch asks, hit her hard with the log and say, ‘This log is specially reserved for you, old witch!’”
After dark, the witch indeed came. She was surprised to find that the drummer had completed the second task.
But she quickly noticed the unbundled log and said, “You didn’t complete the task, immediately roll down the glass mountain!”
The drummer picked up the log and hit her hard, saying, “This log is specially reserved for you, old witch!”
On the third day, the witch asked the drummer to pile all the firewood together and then set it on fire.
The drummer worriedly thought: This is the last task, but how can he possibly move so many bundles of firewood by himself? After all, this firewood is equivalent to the trees of the entire forest.
Fortunately, the maiden appeared again.
She still told him to go to sleep, saying that the task would be completed when he woke up.
After the drummer fell asleep, the maiden turned her wishing-ring again.
Countless bundles of firewood instantly piled up together.
When the drummer woke up, he saw a mountain of wood already burning fiercely, with flames soaring into the sky.
The maiden said, “The final task is complete. You must remember my advice: when the witch comes, she will try to make things difficult for you. Do whatever she says without fear. If you show fear, she will throw you into the fire.”
After the maiden left, the witch arrived. Seeing that the drummer had completed the final task, she sneered, “Not bad! But there’s a log in the fire that hasn’t burned. Take it out, and you can take the princess with you.”
The drummer remembered the maiden’s words and fearlessly walked into the fire to retrieve the log.
Strangely, the fire didn’t burn him at all, not even a single hair.
He ran out with the log, and as soon as it hit the ground, it transformed into the maiden who had helped him complete the three tasks.
He also recognized that the dress she was wearing were the one he had found by the lake.
It turned out that the maiden who had been helping him was the same girl who had come to reclaim her dress, and she was also the princess he was supposed to rescue.
The drummer said to the witch, “All the tasks are completed. You should keep your promise and let us go!”
As he spoke, he took the princess’s hand and started to leave.
“It’s not that easy!” the witch said as she reached out to grab the princess, intending to throw her into the fire.
The drummer immediately blocked her, lifted her up, and threw her into the fire instead…
The princess looked at the handsome drummer and said, “You risked your life to save me. I am willing to be your wife. Let us be loyal and love each other.”
The witch had a lot of gold and jewels, but they only took a few gems and flew down the Glass Mountain on the magical saddle.
They returned the saddles to the two men and gave them some gems as compensation, which turned their anger into joy.
The princess then turned the wishing-ring on her finger, and they instantly arrived outside the city gates.
The princess wanted to take the drummer to the palace to meet the king and queen, but the drummer said he wanted to see his parents first and asked the princess to wait outside the city gates for a while.
The princess warned him, “You must remember not to kiss your parents on the right cheek, or you will forget me and everything about us.”
The drummer laughed, “That’s impossible. How could I ever forget you?”
When the drummer returned home, he found that three years had passed.
It turned out that three days on the Glass Mountain were equivalent to three years in the human world.
His parents were overjoyed to see him and hugged him, saying, “We couldn’t find you for three years, and now you’re finally back!”
The drummer was also very happy and, in his excitement, forgot the princess’s words and kissed his parents on both cheeks.
In an instant, he forgot the princess and everything about her.
His parents used the gems he brought back to build a palace-like castle, hired many servants, and found a wife for him, preparing for his wedding.
The poor princess waited outside the city gate, but the drummer never returned.
So she went to find him, only to discover that he had completely forgotten her. Worse yet, he was about to get married.
She decided to do everything she could to win him back.
Knowing that the bride loved beautiful dress, the princess turned the wishing-ring and said, “I want a dress that shines like the sun!”
On the first day of the wedding, she wore this dress to the banquet.
Everyone was amazed, especially the bride, who eagerly asked if she could buy the dress.
The princess replied, “I’ll give it to you for free, but on one condition: you must let me stand outside the groom’s door for one night.”
The bride agreed.
In the evening, the princess stood by the window, looking at the sleeping groom, recounting everything between them in an attempt to stir his memories.
But the groom did not respond at all because the bride had given him some wine, and he was in such a deep sleep that he could not hear the princess’s words.
On the second day of the banquet, the princess wore a dress as delicate as moonlight.
Again, she traded the dress for another night outside the groom’s door.
But it was still in vain. The drummer, having drunk the wine, fell asleep again and didn’t hear her words.
However, the servants heard her and were moved by her words. They informed the groom about her plight.
On the third day, the princess wore a dress as sparkling as the stars.
For the third time, she exchanged her beautiful dress for a night standing outside the groom’s door.
When the princess once again recounted the story between her and the drummer, the groom suddenly jumped out of bed.
It turned out that the groom had not drunk the bride’s wine after hearing the servants’ story.
This time he finally heard what the princess said and remembered her.
He opened the door, took the princess’s hand, and said, “I remember now. We promised to be faithful and love each other, but I forgot you and was about to marry someone else. How unfaithful I’ve been!”
He then took the princess to meet his parents, explained everything, and they held another wedding.
The bride, satisfied with the three beautiful dresses and additional jewels, was content.
👉 Very Short Story
A drummer found a beautiful piece of clothing by the lake. That night, as he drifted to sleep, he vaguely saw a young maiden approach him, asking for the clothing.
She told him she was a princess, imprisoned on the glass mountain by a witch.
The drummer returned the clothing and said he could rescue her.
However, the princess told him that the witch was powerful, and he would have to pass through a forest inhabited by man-eating giants. Even if he reached the glass mountain, climbing it would be impossible.
Yet, the drummer was determined.
When he arrived at the giants’ forest, he found a giant sleeping. He could have passed through quietly, but he thought, “The giant can reach the glass mountain in just a few steps; it would take me ages.”
So, he intentionally woke the giant and cleverly persuaded him to carry him to the glass mountain.
As the princess had foretold, he could not climb the mountain because it was as smooth as glass; every step he took made him slide back down.
Just then, he saw two people arguing over a flying saddle. Using his wits again, he borrowed the saddle and flew to the top of the glass mountain.
At the peak, he finally encountered the witch.
She was shocked that he had made it and, upon learning his purpose, sneered, “Want to save the princess? Fine! If you can complete three tasks, I’ll let you take her.”
The witch deliberately set each task harder than the last, but with the princess’s help, he managed to complete them all.
When he went to take the princess, the witch tried to prevent them from leaving. She grabbed the princess, but the drummer held on tightly to her as well.
Enraged, the witch pulled harder, tearing the princess’s clothing. With the torn piece in her hand, the witch fell into a sea of flames.
Afterward, the drummer and the princess married and lived happily ever after.
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