Hans was not afraid of work. "Show it to me that I may do it at once,"
he said; "for I am hastening to see my mother."

Then the king took Hans into a room as large as a meadow where some of
all the seeds in the world was stored. There were lettuce-seeds, and
radish-seeds, flax-seeds and grains of rice, fine seeds of flowers and
small seeds of grass, all mixed and mingled till no two alike lay
together.

Hans had never seen so many seeds in all his life before; and when he
had looked at them the king bade him sort them, each kind to itself.

"The lettuce-seed must be here, and the radish-seed there; the
flax-seed in this corner and the grains of rice in another; the fine
seeds of flowers must be in their place, and the small seeds of grass
all ready for planting before you can pass through my kingdom and go
on your way," he said; and when he had spoken he went out of the room
and locked the door behind him.

Poor Hans! He sat down on the floor and cried--the tears rolled down
his cheeks I do assure you--for he said to himself:

"If I live to be a hundred years old I can never do this thing that
the king requires. I shall never see my mother or the good king, my
master, again."

How long he sat there, neither I nor anybody else can tell you, but by
and by he saw a little black ant creeping in through a crack in the
floor. Behind it came another and another, like soldiers marching; one
by one they came, till the whole floor was black with hundreds and
hundreds of the ant people.

"You helped us, and we have come to help you," they said; and they set
to work at once to sort the seed as the king required.

By the next day when the king came in to inquire how Hans was getting
on, the work was done. The lettuce-seed was here and the radish-seed
was there, the flax-seed in one corner, and the grains of rice in
another; the fine seeds of flowers were in their place and the small
seeds of grass were all ready for planting.

The king was astonished. He could scarcely believe his eyes; but he
would not let Hans go.

"Such a fine workman must do one other piece of work before he passes
through my kingdom," he said; and he took Hans out in the open country
and pointed to an orchard far away.

"Bring me one golden apple that grows in that orchard and you shall go
free," he said.

"Ah, what an easy task is this," said Hans, and he set off at once to
the orchard.

But, alack, when he had come to the orchard gate it