Once upon a time, there was a king who had a great forest near his castle, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman and huntswoman to shoot a deer, but the hunters did not come back.
“Perhaps they have had an accident,” said the king and the queen, and the following day he sent out two other hunters who were to search for them, but they did not return either. Then on the third day, the King summoned all his best hunters, and said, “Search through the whole forest, and do not give up until you have found all three.”
But none of these came home again either, nor was any of the hounds from the pack that they had taken with them.
From that time on, no one dared to go into these woods. The woods lay in deep quiet and solitude, and all that one saw from there was an occasional eagle or hawk flying overhead.
This lasted for many years when two unknown hunters presented themselves to the king seeking a position and they volunteered to go into the dangerous woods.
The king, however, did not want to give his permission, and said, “It is haunted in there. I am afraid that you will do no better than did the others, and that you will never come out again.” The huntsman answered, “Sir, we will proceed on our own risk. We know nothing of fear.”
The Hunter, therefore, set forth with a dog into the woods. It was not long before the dog picked up a scent and wanted to follow it, but the dog had run only a few steps when it came to a deep pool and could go no further. Then a naked arm reached out of the water, seized the dog, and pulled it under.
When the hunter saw that, they went back and got three more. They returned with buckets and baled out the water. When they could see to the bottom, there was a wild man and a wild woman lying there. Their body was brown like rusty iron, and their hair hung over their face down to their knees. They bound them with cords and led them away to the castle.
