Household Tales · Chapter
The Riddle explained
A king's son and his faithful servant encounter a witch, survive a poisoning attempt, and inadvertently kill twelve murderers through a poisoned raven.
What happens
A king's son and his faithful servant encounter a witch, survive a poisoning attempt, and inadvertently kill twelve murderers through a poisoned raven. The prince then poses a riddle to a proud princess, who tries to cheat but is caught, leading to their marriage.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the sisters, driven by envy of the Queen’s beauty and their o…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The honest servant and prince survive while the witch, murderers, and cheating princess face consequences.
- Promises and Their Consequences
The princess's proclamation about the riddle leads to her being outsmarted and forced to marry.
Characters to notice
- the youth
The king's son who travels with his servant, solves the riddle, and marries the princess.
- the servant
The faithful servant who kills the raven and later helps expose the princess's cheating.
- the princess
The proud princess who tries to guess the riddle by spying but is caught.
- the maiden
The stepdaughter who warns the travelers about her stepmother's wicked arts.
- Unknown
The witch stepmother who poisons the horse and later dies eating the raven.
Key passages
“One slew none, and yet slew twelve.”
A single creature killed no one directly, but caused the death of twelve people.
The riddle refers to the raven that ate poisoned horseflesh and then was eaten by twelve murderers, killing them.
“She stole into my room in the night and questioned me, otherwise she could not have discovered it.”
The princess secretly came to my room at night and asked me about the riddle; without that, she would not have known the answer.
The prince accuses the princess of cheating by spying on him while he slept.
