When Prince John awoke the next morning he found himself in a strange bed in a strange room. It took a moment for him to remember about getting lost in the woods and meeting the strange little man who took him into his home.
Just then the little man came up to him and said, "Rise and shine, my young friend. Today will be a day full of fun!"
"And then will you take me back to my home?" asked John.
"I promise," said the little man. "Cross my heart. Now come with me."
So then John went with him up the stairs leading out of the hollow oak tree again. Once they were outside John found the woods were not scary anymore in the daytime as they were in the nighttime as the sun lit everything up beautifully and he could hear the birds singing.
"Come. There is something I want to show you. This way," said the little man.
John followed him as he led him through the woods for a short ways and stopped at a large stone well.
"This is the great Wishing Well," the little man said to him. "When you look into it you can make a wish for anything you want and it will come true."
This sounded like a most excellent proposition to Prince John and so he went up to the well and looked down inside it and thought about something he had always wished for and then spoke it into the well.
"I wish I could ride on a unicorn," he said.
Almost as soon as he had spoken his wish he heard the sound of gentle hoof beats coming from behind him. He turned around and gasped as he saw before him a white unicorn with a silvery horn sticking out of its forehead. It was exactly the right size for him to ride also.
"My wish came true!" he exclaimed in delight.
"Greetings, my young prince," said the unicorn bowing its head. "I would be honored to have you ride upon my back."
So Prince John mounted onto the unicorn's back and rode him through the woods with the little man walking at his side.
After a while John asked the little man, "Where are we going?"
"To visit with some old friends of mine," he replied with the familiar curious smile.
He led him through the woods and then they stopped at a very small ancient looking cottage which looked almost like a cave as it was dark brown and full of cracks, except it had a roof and a door attached to it
John dismounted the unicorn and the little man gestured for him to follow him inside.
As soon as they had approached the door they heard an aged crackly voice call from behind it, "Come on in, the door is open as we've been expecting you two."
So they opened the door which creaked and squeaked on its hinges and entered the cottage. Once inside they were greeted by three women dressed in dark cloaks with hoods. One of them had black curly hair hanging out of the sides of her hood, and one of them had blonde straight hair that hung down her back, and the last one had shorter reddish brown hair that was mostly tucked inside her hood. They all had some wrinkles on their faces yet they didn't look very old, and yet at the same time something about them seem to say they were even older.
"Greetings, young Prince John!" said the black-haired woman. "How good to meet you!"
John was quite astounded. "How did you know who I am?" he asked. "And how did you know we were coming?"
"Ah, you see we are the witches of these woods and we know and see everything that goes on around here through our crystal balls," replied the red-haired witch.
"You're good witches, I hope," said John slightly nervously.
"Ah, yes, we are good witches who practice only white magic," replied the blonde-haired witch. "Though if someone were to become enemies with us that would be another story."
"I assure you, my friend, you can trust these witches as they are good friends and neighbors of mine," the little man said. "Any little bit of magic I learned I learned all from them."
"You can do magic?" asked John in surprise. "What kind of magic?"
"Well, I can spin different textures into new fabrics," he replied rather modestly. "For instance I can turn straw into gold. Would you care to see how?"
"Yes, I would, please," said John eagerly.
So the little man sat at a spinning wheel that was in a corner of the room and the witches provided him with a small bundle of straw which he put into the spinning wheel and as he spun it through it was transformed into golden silky threads right before everyone's eyes.
"That is so incredible! So marvelous!" exclaimed John as he felt of the golden threads between his hands. He had inherited his father's love of golden things.
"It's quite one of my simplest tricks though, really," the little man said. "Now why don't we make something out of this gold for you?"
"What can you make?" asked John.
"You'll see," replied the little man. And so saying he put the golden silk threads through the spinning wheel once again and wove them together. When he had shortly finished he had spun from them a long shiny golden cape just the right size for John to wear.
"This is for you, my young friend," he said as he presented it to him by draping it over his shoulders and tying it on.
"Oh, gosh. Thank you so much!" exclaimed John well pleased.
"As we said, we have the power to see into the future," said the black-haired witch. "Would you like for us to look into your future for you?"
"Yes, I would, please," said John eagerly.
So the witch got out a very small round ball made of the very clearest crystal. John sat across from her at a table as she sat in front of the crystal ball and made motions with her hands over it and spoke unintelligible words. Then at last she spoke:
"I see you are very strong and good at heart. I see you are destined to grow very wise and have many grand adventures, and now... I see a thick gray mist shrouding my vision. That is all there is to be told."
John's eyes were wide and wondering. "Thank you," he said. "That was very enlightening."
Then he and the little man got up to leave. Then just as they reached the door one of the witches stopped them and said to the little man, "Oh, my, I almost forgot! I have the potion you wanted ready now, my friend."
The little man smiled delightedly as he took a small corked bottle from her. "Excellent!" he grinned.
They then went back to the little man's home underneath the hollow oak tree. Shortly after they got there they were visited by many other little men and women.
"Not too late for the party, are we?" asked one of them who had a long white beard.
"No, not at all. You're right on time," smiled the the first little man.
"What party?" asked John.
"Why, a party to celebrate your being here, of course," he replied. "You see, we little men of the woods always like to find any reason at all to have a party. And now I can't think of any better reason to have one then you being here."
So then the party started and there was much dancing and singing and one of the little women had brought a small cake she had baked for John. Then they all sat around a table and the host of the party poured everyone a glass of cider and then lifted his glass and said,
"To our guest, the Prince of this Kingdom!"
Then they all clinked their mugs together and drank from them all at the same time. As John drank from his mug he tasted a very slightly funny taste in his cider, and then suddenly his mind became foggy and his eyes closed momentarily. Then when he opened them again he looked around and saw him many happy smiling faces of the little people surrounding him and instantly forgot about the sudden strange feeling and enjoyed the rest of the night with them all.
Back at the castle the King and Queen's men came to them to report on their search for the young prince.
"Your Majesties," said the leader, "We regret to inform you that we have had no success at all in our search. The prince is truly lost."
"Oh dear! No!" wailed the Queen putting her face into her hands.
"This cannot be!" exclaimed the King. "Are you sure you looked everywhere? The forest, the mountains, across the river?"
"Yes, we did, Sire," nodded the huntsmen.
The court wizard who had been standing to the side had become thoughtful and now he spoke, "If it pleases Your Majesties, I think I might take a look into my magic mirror and see what I can find on the prince's whereabouts."
"Oh, yes! By all means, please do so!" said the King anxiously.
So the wizard left the room and returned shortly and said, "I saw the prince in my mirror. He looked to be very happy and safe. But where he is I cannot tell for the image was surrounded in a gray mist."
The King and Queen were at least relieved to know that their prince was alive and well and there was hope yet of finding him.
"Tomorrow, you wizard shall accompany the men on the search for Prince John," said the King. "And search through the night if need be."