The Glass Mountain

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s a satisfying ‘three tries’ story: each attempt teaches something, and the ending is bright and triumphant. Great for bedtime when your child needs a hopeful reminder that effort can build.

Story Synopsis

In a far country, a mountain rises so smooth and shining it seems made of glass. At its peak stands a golden castle, and before it grows an apple tree with golden apples. A rule is proclaimed: whoever can climb the Glass Mountain and pick a golden apple may enter the castle and win the enchanted Princess who waits within. Many proud suitors try—and fail. Horses slip, men tumble, and the mountain defeats them all. The Princess watches from her window, longing for freedom from enchantment and for someone brave enough to reach her. A poor or overlooked youth—often mocked as simple—decides to try. Instead of rushing in with pride, he prepares and listens. In many versions, he receives help from a mysterious old man, a spirit, or from kindness he once showed. He is given a magical horse or a set of horses that grow stronger each time. The first attempt is close but not enough. The second is higher. The third brings the turning point: the youth mounts the strongest horse, its hooves finding purchase where none should exist. Step by step, the impossible becomes possible. He reaches the summit, plucks the golden apple, and proves himself. The gates open. The enchantment breaks or begins to loosen. The Princess is no longer a prize but a person finally seen and rescued. The story ends with celebration, not because someone was the loudest, but because someone kept trying with steady courage—and discovered strength the world had overlooked.

Story Excerpt

Once, in a far country, there stood a mountain so smooth and shining that it looked as if it had been poured from glass. People called it the Glass Mountain. At its very top sat a castle made of pure gold, bright as sunrise. And in front of the golden castle grew an apple tree that carried golden apples, as if the tree had learned to make its fruit from light. There was a strange rule : whoever could reach the tree and pick a golden apple would be allowed through the castle gates. Inside the castle, in a room that gleamed like silver, an enchanted Princess waited. She was so lovely that travelers spoke of her as if she were a story, and she was rich besides — there were cellars filled with precious stones, and in the rooms stood heavy chests of gold. But the Princess did not laugh and dance in her golden home. She sat often at a high window and watched the mountain below, because no one could climb that glassy slope and come to her. Knights came from every direction, proud and hopeful. They rode strong horses and even had the horses ’ shoes fitted with sharp nails for gripping. Each knight would gather courage when he saw the Princess in the window, and each would urge his horse upward. Yet the Glass Mountain was too steep and too slick. Again and again the riders slid back down. Some limped away. Some were…

In One Glance