I was lost in the forest when I came upon the iron stove.  A voice inside said: “I am the son of a king far greater than your father, and if you free me, I will marry you.”

I was confused. What sort of king could be greater than my father who commanded the whole country?

At any rate, I promised that if he could tell me the way home, I would come back with a knife and free him. Then a spirit rose up out of the chimney pipe and I followed the spirit home.

My father is delighted to see me, and I don’t want to go back into the forest. Free the spirit of an iron stove? Why would i want to marry an iron stove?

Daughter Who Leaves the Old King in The Iron Stove, Grimms. Picture by Florence Mary Anderson.