The original German title is Eisenhans, a compound of Eisen "iron" and Hans (like English John, a common short form of the personal name Johannes).

Some years later, a wandering explorer accompanied by a dog hears of these dangerous woods and asks permission to hunt in the forest, claiming that he might be able to discover the fate of the other hunters.

They find lying down at the bottom of the lake a large and naked wild man with rusted iron-like skin, long shaggy fur all over his body (some versions show him in some article of clothing), and sporting a shaggy beard and hair that are long enough to go down to his knees.

He sets the prince to watch over his well, but warns him not to let anything touch it or fall in because it will turn instantly to gold.

In celebration, the king announces a banquet and offers his daughter's hand in marriage to any one of the knights who can catch a golden apple that will be thrown into their midst.

After telling his tale to the court, the prince is returned to his former station, marries the princess, and is happily reunited with his parents.

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 502, "The Wild Man as Helper".

[23] According to Germanist Günter Dammann [de], in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, the wild man, in Slavic and Eastern European variants, is described as having iron, copper or gold skin.

'Copper Head (fr)': the prince releases a supernatural prisoner his father captured, and is expelled from home; he reaches another kingdom and, through heroics, gets to marry a princess.

[25] In addition, according to Jack V. Haney, the story is "known" in Russia since 1786, via printed books, and the supernatural captive is either a bogatyr or a forest spirit.

[27] Germanist Emil Sommer [de] collected another German variant, from Gutenberg, titled Der eiserne Mann ("The Iron Man").

[28] Folklorist Franz Xaver von Schönwerth collected in the 19th century a Bavarian variant titled König Goldhaar ("King Goldenlocks").

One day, the king captures a wild man who is made of iron and brings it home in a cage.

The young prince accidentally tosses his ball inside the cage, which the wild man promises to return if the boy releases him.

The prince, in his work as a gardener, arranges bouquets for the princesses, and ties a strand of his golden hair to the youngest's.

King Goldenlocks meets the wild man again, who furnishes him with armour, weapons and a horse for him to join the battle.

[30] Author Karl Haiding [de] collected a tale from an Upper Austrian source with the title Der Pechkappenhans ("The Pitch-Cap Hans"): a prince or count has a young son, who plays with his toy gun in the garden.

One day, while the old man is away, the boy opens up the lid and finds a golden liquid, into which he dips his finger into and tries to clean it in his hair, gilding it.

Reluctantly, he expels the boy to the wide world, but gives him a pitch-cap hat to cover his hair, and says he has but to whistle and the old man will come to his aid.

The boy wanders off in the world until he reaches another kingdom, where he takes up a job as a shepherd first, then as assistant to the king's gardener.

Later, one of the king's daughters takes an interest in the lowly gardener, and, in a suitor selection test, throws him a golden apple, signifying her choice of husband.

As pitch-cap Hans hides himself, he summons the old man who provides him with another horse, so he can fight to defend his father-in-law's kingdom.