Since, however, not one among those responsible showed a sense of more comprehensive, human capabilities, the king allowed them to catch him in the naive manner as described, and to lock him up in the golden cage.

“There he put his little son to the first test by making him choose between fundamental general humaneness, pure fulfilment of duty, and royal rule.
The boy chose the humaneness - on which any guidance of man rests in its essence - and set the man free.

“Once the king's son had thus chosen freely, he set out on his journey. The father, however, had - without the boy knowing it - planned everything in such a manner that nothing could happen to the boy on his adventurous journey.

“So he had won a few pupils from the Island of Happiness where at the same time he was a teacher from the line of the sun-alfs, and he had asked these students to escort, in the guise of animals, the son on his way, and to see to it that nothing unexpected happened to him.
This is how it came about that the king's son met on his way the wild dove, the wild duck, and the stork, at which he took aim - following his usual childlike play instinct.