A mighty king once had an enchantingly beautiful daughter. Many prince wanted to marry her. The king laid a condition: the princess must be guarded for three nights so that she remained in her room. Everyone failed. A handsome young prince from a rival kingdom also tried his luck. On his way, he was met by a youth in rags, Flagstaff, who said that nobody was willing to employ him but proved that he could grow to an amazing height! Another young beggar, Fatso, also came and said that nobody kept him as he was very fat. To prove it, Fatso held his breath and his stomach grew immensely large! Soon, a third youngster, called Big-eyes came and he could make his eyes grow very huge! The prince employed all of them.

The next morning, he met the king, and fell instantly in love with the princess, who also seemed to favour him. That night, he got the king’s permission for his three servants to remain with him as he guarded the princess. Around midnight, the prince, Flagstaff and Fatzo dozed off. When the prince awoke, the princess had disappeared! Luckily, Big-eyes had seen her change into a wild duck and fly to a lake! Flagstaff covered the distance in ten steps! Fatso drank all the water and Flagstaff handed the duck to the prince. At once, she turned into the princess! The next night, the princess changed into an apple and after that, into a needle. Each time, Big-eyes saw her, and the prince was helped by Flagstaff and Fatso to bring her back. The king was happy but when he learnt that the prince was his enemy’s son, he tried to get him killed. But Fatso ate up his entire army, letting one soldier escape to tell the king what had happened. The prince’s father welcomed his son and his bride. Flagstaff, Fatso, and Big-eyes also lived happily in the castle with them.