He did! Getting back to his children was most important of all, and so he agreed to the old woman's terms. So she went and showed him the way out of the forest, and because the king was of course an honorable man of his word, he went home to his children and married the old woman's daughter soon after.
Well, it turned out that the old woman was really a witch, and her daughter was one, too--and so it's frankly a bit likely that the forest might've been enchanted to keep the king from ever finding his way out without their help, but that's rather beside the point for him by now anyway--and she was a horrible creature with a terrible temper. So of course the king was very sad at the thought of being married to her, but he was more afraid that she'd be horrible to his beloved children as their stepmother.
So, in the few days he had before the wedding, he rounded up the children and hid them away in another castle, this one so far secluded that no one could find it without the help of an enchanted ball of yarn. One simply took it and threw it down to the ground, and it would unwind all by itself and lead the way from one place to another, and that was how he would find his way to the hidden castle to visit his children!
Well, that was all well and good for a while, but soon the wicked queen--because she'd married the king, and was a queen by now, of course--began to get jealous and suspicious of her husband during the times when he'd up and disappear without telling her where he was going. And so, deciding to find out for herself, she bribed the castle servants until they told her about the seven children and the faraway castle, and after awhile she learned of the magic ball of yarn, as well.
audio ]
Well, it turned out that the old woman was really a witch, and her daughter was one, too--and so it's frankly a bit likely that the forest might've been enchanted to keep the king from ever finding his way out without their help, but that's rather beside the point for him by now anyway--and she was a horrible creature with a terrible temper. So of course the king was very sad at the thought of being married to her, but he was more afraid that she'd be horrible to his beloved children as their stepmother.
So, in the few days he had before the wedding, he rounded up the children and hid them away in another castle, this one so far secluded that no one could find it without the help of an enchanted ball of yarn. One simply took it and threw it down to the ground, and it would unwind all by itself and lead the way from one place to another, and that was how he would find his way to the hidden castle to visit his children!
Well, that was all well and good for a while, but soon the wicked queen--because she'd married the king, and was a queen by now, of course--began to get jealous and suspicious of her husband during the times when he'd up and disappear without telling her where he was going. And so, deciding to find out for herself, she bribed the castle servants until they told her about the seven children and the faraway castle, and after awhile she learned of the magic ball of yarn, as well.