THERE WAS ONCE A KING who was fair and wise, and who governed a Kingdom in the heart of Europe. That specific King was rumored to be alive for more than five hundred years, as he held a golden apple that granted him eternal youth and immortality. So old was he in reality, that he had lived to see generations come and go, yet all of his subjects loved him and learned from their grandparents’ stories about the blessings he had brought upon their country. So much of a great King was he, even, that his name was well known in distant and unknown lands.

Every time there was a full moon, the King used to take the golden apple and sit on his window to see his reflection on it. In it, he could see his real face, as it would have been had he not been immortal and eternally young, with all the wrinkles and the scars of time, and so this way, he kept count of the years.

One such night with full moon that the King wanted to see his reflection in the moonlight, however,  a black crow flew from right in front of him and took the golden apple from his hands, then flew away. An archer that was guarding the opposite tower then reached for his bow and fired an arrow towards the bird, unable to throw it on the ground. Only a black feather was plucked from the crow, which soon found its strength again and flew away, taking the King’s secret of eternal youth and immortality away with it.

The King was shocked. He then asked the Palace’s archpriest and doctor for advice. The doctor assessed the situation, and warned the King that without the apple he would only live for another 21 days and then die of old age, as each day that passed would take its toll on his health. Should the apple be returned to his possession, however, all this would be reversed, and he would become young again. Then the archer appeared in front of them and showed them the black feather he had taken from the crow, which had in the meantime turned into pure gold. After explaining the story to them, the King decided that apart from the apple they should also come to possess the crow itself, as its feathers were enchanted and the Kingdom would become very rich. The archpriest, however, prophesied that the archer would have to choose, whether to bring the apple back and along with it restore the King’s magical youth, or the crow, which would give riches to the Kingdom, as he would not be able to have both.

So, the archer put the feather back in his pocket and departed. After a long travel and no sight of the crow, he got disappointed. Days passed without a trace of the crow, and whoever he told the story to, they either thought him mad or got suspicious. The night when the next new moon was to be seen on the skies, however, a nymph appeared in front of him.

“I know you want the golden apple, and you will find it and many others like it. But the time has come for your master to get old and pass away, as all people do”, she told him with a sweet voice.

Scared as he was, he replied:

“Unless I get the apple back to my master, it is my failure that will be the cause of his passing away”. He then showed her the golden feather and told her about the crow.

As soon as she understood what had happened, she told him:

«Then see what you love more, and choose wisely».

She further explained to him that she was one of the many nymphs guarding the Garden of the Hesperides, in which golden apples grow that grant eternal youth and immortality to all those who possess them. The crow’s feather, as she went on, became gold because the bird itself is also immortal, and that was the reason why his arrow wouldn’t kill it. She concluded that in order to get in the Garden and find the tree with the golden apples, he would have to beat the dragon that guards the tree in which the apples grow.

He silently accepted his fate and asked how he could find this tree. She gave him instructions, as well as a golden pipe with which he would beat the dragon. The archer couldn’t help but wonder, yet he departed to find the fabled Garden.

As he walked in the entrance of the Garden, he saw lots of beautiful trees, many of which had golden leaves. Others had rubies hanging from their branches, whereas a few even had precious diamonds and pearls. So enchanted was he by their glow, that he thought of taking some for himself. Then the nymph whispered to his ear again and got him back on his course to find the tree with the golden apples.

He walked till the ends of the garden, until he finally found the tree he was looking for, yet no dragon to guard it. What he saw instead was a wounded crow, which he recognized and which played with a golden apple at the roots of the tree. He cautiously approached it and tried to take the apple away with force, only to see the crow bite him so hard that he dropped the golden feather he had in his pocket. The crow turned to reach for it.

He then remembered the archpriest’s prophecy that he would either bring the apple back, giving immortality to his King, or the crow, giving riches to the Kingdom. With no second thought he reached for the golden apple. At the same time, the crow picked the golden feather and placed it back to its place, above the wound, after which the feather became black again and the crow flew away, leaving the archer with his trophy: the golden apple that would bring immortality and eternal youth back to his King, making everything as before.

He hid the golden apple in his clothes, only to have second thought about picking more of them, some for himself and others to sell. A shepherd, accompanied by his flock of sheep, the wool of which was also gold, approached him then. As soon as the archer saw him, he attempted to hide, and the shepherd shouted:

“I am the guardian of the tree. Nobody leaves this place with all those that belong to the garden”.

He then transformed himself into a fearsome, gigantic dragon that looked like a snake, and coiled around the tree with the golden apples until he reached its top, from which he saw the archer hiding in the bushes. In an instant, he ordered his sheep to hunt him and close all the exits of the garden so he wouldn’t get away.

The archer then took his magic pipe that the nymph had given to him, and started playing music. Going from bush to bush, he led the sheep astray, which went after him without being able to trace him. So, he managed to direct the dragon’s flock away from the exits, until he managed to escape the Garden of the Hesperides with the golden apple.

The nymph then found him, and told him:

“You picked what you believed was best for your master, just as a loyal servant should have done, yet all things in life end at some point. Take the golden apple to him and you will find the true meaning of immortality”. 

So, he took the long way back home. When he finally reached the Castle, he saw a crowd of peasants that had gathered in and outside the walls with tears in their eyes and holding the banners of the Kingdom. The archer asked them what had happened, to which they replied that their beloved King was passing away from old age. When the news became known outside the walls, all the servants of all ages, even the elders who could barely stand on their feet, as well as people from distant lands ran to the Castle to say goodbye to their beloved King who had granted them prosperity and bliss for centuries straight.

The archer then took the golden apple out of his shirt and ran to the Throne room. The peasants were so shocked with the sight that they immediately made way for him to pass. When he appeared in front of the dying King, he took a bow and gave him the golden apple. The King took the apple with his left hand, stared at it for a while, then let it drop on the ground.

With a bright smile on his face, he let his last breath, thankful for the love and gratitude he had received from his subjects. And so, he became truly immortal, forever to live in the hearts and memories of men.