I asked about this a few years ago and was told that there are a lot of stories like this.
I should have asked for the name even just one story.
Anyway, if you have read this, or a story just like this, and know the name, please share.
When I was a kid I had this book. It was a bout a king who lost a war with another king, and now he was a king without a kingdom.
As he is traveling he meets three people. One can turn into an elephant, one can turn into fire…and I can’t remember what the third can do. Or maybe there wasn’t a third one.
Anyway, they travel to this kingdom where the king’s daughter will marry any man who can pass a test. The test being, there is a gigantic room full of food and barrels of wine. The suitor has to eat all of the food and drink all the wine.
So the prince gets permission to lets his friends go in with him. The one who can turn into fire burns all of the food away. The other guy turns into an elephant and drinks all of the barrels of wine. And if there’s a third, I don’t remember what he does.
Anyway at the end, he’s passed the test, gets the marry the princess, which makes him prince of the kingdom. A demotion I guess, but he at least he has a kingdom again.
There isn’t any subtext of marrying a princess but there is an eating contest which in the myth Loki loses because he was unwittingly competing against fire who not only consumed all of the food but also took out the table and chairs.
Yeah, but used ones can be had for only $4.90, free shipping. I swear sometimes that Antique Booksellers pick their prices by drawing numbers out of a hat…