“The ministers saw that the boy could do it all and they implored the czar to give the boy another task.

“And the czar gave him a new task. ”They should drink in one draught fourtyfive barrels of water, and then fourtyfive barrels of mead.”
The listener had heard it all and told Hans again; and Hans began to think again.

“Don't worry!” said the drinker. ”I will drink it alone, and it will be little for me.”

“They brought the fourtyfive barrels of water and the fourtyfive barrels of mead; but when the drinker began to drink, not one single drop was left over and he even said, ”Was that little! If only there was some more of it, I would drink it too!”

“The ministers saw that there was no getting at the boy and they thought amongst themselves, ”One has to spoil the affair for him once and for all, otherwise he will get the beautiful daughter of our czar - and us too!”
And they implored the czar again to give him an even more drastic task, to discourage him for good.

“So he sent the ministers to the milleris son, and they delivered this message, ”The czar has said you should go to the bathers before the marriage.”
And at the same time the czar told his ministers to have the bath made hot as redhot iron. ”Then he must get off his taste, if he likes it or not!” the czar said to the assembled ministers.

“The stoker fired so mightily that a glowing heatarose. ”The whole world could boil in it,” he thought to himself. Then they informed Hans that the bath was ready.
And he went to the bathers, but the frostman came behind him with his straw.

“They had hardly entered, when such a heat came towards them as Hans would never have suffered.
The frostman, however, laid out his straw, and suddenly it became so cold that Hans could hardly wash himself. He crawled up on the warm stove and fell asleep, for he was quite cold.

“In the morning they opened the bathers and thought, he was certainly now in a mood of leaving; but he was even lying on the stove yet.
When they woke him up he said, ”Oh, how deep I have been sleeping!” and left.

“The ministers reported to the czar, what had happened. ”And he slept on the stove, and the bathroom was so cold as if it had not been heated for a whole winter.”

“The ministers were very worried: what should the czar do with him? They thought and thought and thought . . .
“Well,” said the czar finally, ”as for me, I will give him my daughter if he gets me a regiment of soldiers by tomorrow morning.”

“And the ministers thought by themselves, ”Where should that simple fellow get a regiment from? Even ourselves, the ministers of the czar, can't do it!”
And the czar gave the order.

“The listener had heard everything and repeated it to Hans, and Hans again sat there and thought.
“Don't worry,” said the one who carried the brushwood, ”I will get you the army.”

“The ministers came and reported, ”The czar has said if you draw up a whole regiment of soldiers by tomorrow morning, the daughter of the czar will be yours!” - ”Fine,” he answered.