The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
A young man, considered simple by his family because he does not understand fear, sets out on a journey to learn what shuddering is. His father gives him fifty talers and sends him into the wide world with this single goal. First, he stays at a gallows all night among hanging corpses, but he only feels pity for them and warms them by his fire. When they burn their clothes, he hangs them back up because they are stupid, leaving him unchanged. Next, he accepts a challenge from a waggoner to spend the night in a haunted castle for three nights. On the first night, he calmly kills two black cats that try to play cards with him and survive a runaway bed. During the second night, he plays nine-pins with dead men's bones and skulls, treating the horror as mere amusement. The third night brings a dead cousin who tries to strangle him, but he politely returns him to his coffin. Finally, a fiend challenges him to a test of strength, which the youth wins by splitting an anvil while trapping the fiend's beard in it. He claims the treasure below and saves the castle, winning the king’s daughter for his wife. Yet, despite his bravery and new wealth, he still does not know what shuddering is. His wife eventually finds a way to teach him by pouring cold water with live fish over him while he sleeps. This shocking surprise finally gives him the experience he sought, ending his long quest.
