` There is food in the oven , so you can eat , ' replied the countryman . Then the little man fell to with both his heads , and soon finished the last morsel . When the countryman scolded him for this proceeding he treated him exactly as he had done the nun , and left the poor fellow more dead than alive . Now when the blacksmith came home with the nun in the evening , and found nothing for supper , he flew into a passion ; and swore that he would stay at home the following day , and that no one should go supperless to bed . When day dawned the countryman and the nun set out into the wood , and the blacksmith prepared all the food for the day as the others had done . Again the gray dwarf entered the house without knocking , and this time he had three heads . When he complained of cold , the blacksmith told him to sit near the fire ; and when he said he was hungry , the blacksmith put some food on a plate and gave it to him . The dwarf made short work of what was provided for him , and then , looking greedily round with his six eyes , he demanded more . When the blacksmith refused to give him another morsel , he flew into a terrible rage , and proceeded to treat him in the same way as he had treated his companions . -LSB- Illustration : THE LITTLE GRAY MAN `` HE DEMANDED MORE '' -RSB- But the blacksmith was a match for him , for he seized a huge hammer and struck off two of the dwarf 's heads with it . The little man yelled with pain and rage , and hastily fled from the house . The blacksmith ran after him , and pursued him for a long way ; but at last they came to an iron door , and through it the little creature vanished . The door shut behind him , and the blacksmith had to give up the pursuit and return home . He found that the nun and the countryman had come back in the meantime , and they were much delighted when he placed some food before them , and showed them the two heads he had struck off with his hammer . The three companions determined there and then to free themselves from the power of the gray dwarf , and the very next day they set to work to find him . They had to walk a long way , and to search for many hours , before they found the iron door through which the dwarf had disappeared ; and when they had found it they had the greatest difficulty in opening it . When at last they succeeded in forcing the lock , they entered a large hall , in which sat a young and lovely girl , working at a table . The moment she saw the nun , the blacksmith , and the countryman , she fell at their feet , thanking them with tears in her eyes for having set her free . She told them that she was a king 's daughter , who had been shut up in the castle by a mighty magician . The day before , just about noon , she had suddenly felt the magic power over her disappear , and ever since that moment she had eagerly awaited the arrival of her deliverers .
She went on to say that there was yet another princess shut up in the XXXXX , who had also fallen under the might of the magician .
blacksmith castle day door fellow hall meantime moment power pursuit