There was once an old king and his three beautiful daughters. The king had half a leg in his coffin and wanted to marry all three of his daughters. For that would not have been difficult, for he had three kingdoms, and each of his three daughters had a kingdom of her own.
But just as no three apples are the same, so the three countries were not the same. So the king once said to his daughters that he would give the most beautiful kingdom to the one who loved him best.
He asked the girls in turn, starting with the eldest:
- Answer me, my sweet daughter, how do you love me?
- "Like a dove to clean wheat," said the girl.
- And you, my sweet daughter? - she asked the middle one.
- I like, my father, like hot hot summer breeze.
- Now I ask you," he turned to the youngest, "tell me, do you love me?
- The way people do with salt, Father! - said the little princess.
- "What are you talking about, you useless soul," the king snapped, "get out of my court, and even out of my country! I will not see you, if you love me so!
In vain did the princess cry and beg, in vain did she explain that people liked salt in such and such a way - there was no pardon and no grace: the little princess had to go out into the world.
The little princess went off, weeping bitterly, and wandered into a forest full of woods. From there she couldn't get away, she made a shelter in a hollow tree, and went out into the forest, gathering strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, hazelnuts, and whatever she could find, she lived alone.
One day, when a year had passed, the neighbouring prince came by and saw the princess among the raspberry bushes. But the princess also saw the prince, and with a great fright she ran into the hollow of the tree.
The prince comes after him and calls out:
- Who is here?
The princess was huddled in the hollow, shivering like a poplar leaf, and not a word, not so much as a word, did she say.
The prince asks again:
- Hey! Who's here? Is he a man or a devil? If man, come out; if devil, go to the bottom of hell!
The princess did not dare to speak this time either.
The prince asks a third time:
- Hey! Who's here? Speak up! Is it man or devil, for I'm about to be stoned!
But at this the princess was terribly frightened, and she came out of the tree, sniffling and sniffling. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, and she was ashamed of herself, and told the princess who and what she was with bitter tears. The prince was pleased with the princess, for however ragged and dirty her clothes, she had a pretty, pleasant face.
He took her hand gently by the hand, led her home to his palace, and there dressed her in a costly, diamond-encrusted gown, and waited not two weeks, nor even one, I think not even a day, nor perhaps an hour: he summoned a priest, they swore, and had a feast so great that ... who can tell how great ...?
Time went by, the young couple lived in great peace, loving each other like two doves. The king once said:
- Now, wife, when I first saw you, I didn't even ask why your father had chased you away. Tell me the plain truth.
- 'My soul, my lord,' says the queen, 'I cannot say it now otherwise than I said it then. My father asked me how I loved him, and I said, as men love salt.
- "All right," says the king, "I'll do something, I know your father's heart will turn back.
How and how he turned it back, he said nothing to his wife, but simply turned into the other room, wrote a letter to the old king, and invited him to luncheon. So the letter went the next day, and the third day the old king came in a six-horse carriage.
The young king led the old king up to the palace, to the most beautiful room in the palace, where the table was already laid for two. They sat down at the table, and the footmen carried the food that was more than wood, but, lest I should confuse my words, the young king had ordered that all the food for the old king should be cooked and baked separately, and that no salt should be put into it.
Well, that was just lunch! The old king tasted the soup, took a spoonful or two, but he put the spoon down, he couldn't eat the soup, it was so salty. The old king thought to himself: they have left the salt out of it, but in the beef cooked in salt it will be. There was not so much as a grain of poppy seed in it.
They carried the dumplings in order, but they also took them back, because the old king only licked them, and didn't even bite into them, all the expensive dumplings were so tasteless and saltless.
But the old king could no longer stand it.
- Do you hear, my brother, what kind of cook have you, that you cook without salt?
- He always cooks with salt, my lord, but I have heard that my lord does not like salt, so I have ordered him to be beheaded if he puts a grain of salt in his food.
- Well, brother, you did that wrong too, for I am very fond of salt. Who told you that I dislike salt?
- 'I am of your majesty's daughter, my lord,' said the young king.
In that instant the door opened, and the queen, the youngest daughter of the old king, entered.
Oh, my God, was the old king happy! For even then he had repented in his heart that he had chased away his daughter, and since then he had searched the world over for her. But now he had given his greatest kingdom to his youngest daughter. The young king took the kingdom in his hand, and they are still alive, if they are not dead.
(Elek Benedek: Hungarian tale- and mythology Volume 1)
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