But a witch came to him one day in a storm and told him his brothers had promised him in return for their lives.
In her service, the witch set him to sort a great mass of feathers in one day.
The next day, she set him to split wood, and the longer he worked, the larger the pile seemed to grow.
She left two pieces of wood in the bed, and they answered the witch, so she did not realize they were gone until morning.
The princess had the prince threw down a flower pot, which became a forest, which slowed the witch as she had to chop through it.
Then the princess had the prince throw down a glass of water, which became a lake, and the witch had to go back for her dough trough to cross it.