A young traveller and his two companions had reached a great city. Stopped by guards, all three were taken to the city’s palace. The old king was a madman, but could see that the traveler was a true warrior. “Throw them a feast!”, he ordered, and it was done. While the traveller ate, the king looked down upon him, and concluded that he was indeed a hero above all others. To test him, however, the king would have to put him through three trials. When the traveller refused this, the king grew cross and took his companions captive until he complied. First, the boy had to fetch a golden key from beneath a waterfall. The boy succeeded, but when he requested that the king to set his friends free, he refused. The second task was to find the king’s hare. The boy, thinking this easy enough, found a small hare without any interference. Suddenly, a beast came into view, and charged at the boy, startling the hare and sending it off into a panicked sprint. They boy chased the hare until in escaped into a hole in the wall, and was left cornered by the charging beast. It was only then that the boy realized– the beast was a large hare itself! The giant hare’s manner instantly changed to that of a mild pet’s, and the boy returned it to the king. “I am ready for the next challenge,” he announced. For the third task, the king pointed to his right side, where stood a wicked looking man with an iron claw and a scythe, and then to his left, where stood a large warrior with an axe. “Your final test is a duel,” explained the king. “You may choose your opponent.” The boy looked from the metal armed man to the the giant, and made his decision. “I choose you!” he declared, pointing to the feeble old king. The king’s eyes widened, then fell into a grin. “Wrong choice.” The king threw off his robes, and he was fuckin ripped son,,
