The Three Princesses of Whiteland

[1][2] A fisherman caught nothing one day, and near evening, a head popped up from the water, to make a bargain for him: fish for what his wife carried under her girdle.

The king heard of their story and offered to raise their son when he was born, to protect him, but when the boy was grown, he begged to go with his father fishing for one day, and as soon as he set foot in the boat, it was dragged off to a far land.

A flask of ointment by the bed there would cure all the injuries he suffered, and a sword would let him cut off their heads.

The king sent him to a field where three brothers had fought for a hundred years over a magical hat, cloak, and pair of boots, which would let the wearer make himself invisible and wish himself wherever he wanted.

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 400, "The Man on a Quest for the Lost Wife".

He goes after her on a long quest, often helped by the elements (Sun, Moon and Wind) or by the rulers of animals of the land, sea and air.