Not all giants are scary and killers. Maybe the killer part is right. "Iron John" or "Iron Hans", whichever tickles your fancy more, is the tale not about our sidekick John but about a little boy who betrays his father, the King.
John is cursed and must kill anything that comes near a pool of water he sits in. On finally being captured he is locked up in a cage in the kingdom. The giant isn't even put on trial or questioned about why he was killing people. He is seen as a trolling monster who needs to be locked up. With the king's son we see the other side of Iron John; he may be iron but he has a heart of gold.
John is cursed and must kill anything that comes near a pool of water he sits in. On finally being captured he is locked up in a cage in the kingdom. The giant isn't even put on trial or questioned about why he was killing people. He is seen as a trolling monster who needs to be locked up. With the king's son we see the other side of Iron John; he may be iron but he has a heart of gold.
When the Prince comes along he has been told that John is bad but when his golden ball rolls inside the monster's cage the Prince learns a different side to the man. From the innocence of this child John is released from the cage, returning back to the forest. The Prince insist on returning with him, he is afraid of the consequences of letting the kingdom's giant go free.
The boy is left to watch that nothing falls into a golden stream. Because he has the playfulness of a child he ends up with a golden finger and golden hair. John is disappointed that the prince could not keep his end of the deal. The giant sends him out of the forest telling him he must live poor for the rest of his life. If he ever needs anything he can return to the forest and iron John will help him. The giant is the self-proclaimed richest man in all the land.
The boy is left to watch that nothing falls into a golden stream. Because he has the playfulness of a child he ends up with a golden finger and golden hair. John is disappointed that the prince could not keep his end of the deal. The giant sends him out of the forest telling him he must live poor for the rest of his life. If he ever needs anything he can return to the forest and iron John will help him. The giant is the self-proclaimed richest man in all the land.
The boy spends his life as a poor King's gardening assistant. He hides his hair and gives his money away. The Prince learns to live modestly; that money and power doesn't make him a good man and just because he's a prince doesn't mean he's worthy.
Eventually a war breaks out. The boy is now a man willing to fight in the battles. Most in the kingdom tease him about his want to go to war. They leave an old broken down horse in the stable for him to ride. The Prince goes to Iron John for help, in return he gets a horse, armor, and his own army. Since he lives modestly now he returns what was given to him. This is a good move, he needs it a little time later to win over the princess' hand in marriage.
Eventually a war breaks out. The boy is now a man willing to fight in the battles. Most in the kingdom tease him about his want to go to war. They leave an old broken down horse in the stable for him to ride. The Prince goes to Iron John for help, in return he gets a horse, armor, and his own army. Since he lives modestly now he returns what was given to him. This is a good move, he needs it a little time later to win over the princess' hand in marriage.
When the boy finally revealed his hair to the kingdom he told the truth about who he was. At his wedding he was reunited with his parents and Iron John's true identity was revealed after the Prince helped break the spell that was cast on him.