A long time ago, there lived a king who had a single, beautiful daughter. She was so beautiful that the king never dreamed of marrying her off. What young man deserved his beautiful daughter and would appreciate her? So for a long time he rejected all the princes who wanted to marry the princess.

But the king's advisors became more and more dissatisfied every year. They said: "The princess will one day become queen and later die lonely and without descendants!" Then the king came to his senses and said: "All right, my daughter shall marry, but only the person who can eat the most salt shall have her as his wife."

Soon everyone in the country was talking about the task the king had set, and before long, hundreds of young men were standing outside the palace. Behind them formed a long queue of men, young and old, rich and poor, who had heard of the princess's beauty or simply wanted to get rich.

Finally, the first man was let in. He entered the throne room, where many sacks of salt stood ready. He bravely began to eat salt, one bag, then another. But then he became thirsty. He called desperately for water, but no matter how much he drank, it didn't help and he collapsed. The second fared similarly, as did the third, and the fourth was also carried out of the palace feet first.

Outside the palace, however, the number of applicants did not decrease. Everyone thought that he, of all people, could fulfill the task, forgetting that he was threatened with death. Among those waiting was a young prince. He was as beautiful as the moon, and when he wanted to enter the palace, the guard stopped him and said: "Don't go in! You are a young, handsome prince and you still have your whole life ahead of you, go back to your kingdom!"

But the young man just smiled, entered the palace and was led into the throne room. There sat the king with his beautiful daughter, surrounded by the kingdom's advisors and ministers. The young man gave the princess a smile, went to one of the many sacks of salt and opened it.

He took a pinch of salt, closed his eyes and let the salt melt on his tongue with relish. Then he said: "I'm done!"

The king jumped up and shouted: "What, you only eat a pinch of salt and nothing more?"

The young man bowed to the king and said: "Anyone who cannot enjoy a pinch of salt will not appreciate a quantity of salt either."

The king immediately realized that this refined young man really appreciated something precious. The princess, however, not only saw the prince's friendly smile, but also that she liked him very much, and she exclaimed: "I want to marry him!"

How could the king have refused his daughter's wish? The wedding was soon celebrated for seven days. They lived happily together for a long time, eating sweet and savory food, just as they needed it.

Fassung D. Jaenike, nach: P. Gay-Para, Beirut, Contes du Liban. La femme-chatte, Paris 2000, unter dem Titel «Une pincée de sel», englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike © Mutabor Märchenstiftung.ch