The king orders his haughty daughter to pick a groom, but she insults every suitor at first sight. One prince, whom she met undercover at the market, persists, and accepts a seemingly impossible task: bringing as 'wedding gift' the magical tree that sings an chimes. He sets out for it into the dark forest, where he bumps into a mean spirit, who has it and sets a high price: himself if her lack of love stops it from singing. This happening, he's caught in a magical bubble around a barren cave, forced to survive on dug-up roots and an impossible task of chopping wood to buy his freedom. The king sets out to find them, also reaches the spirit, and bargains the tree for the first creature that will meet him from the castle, unaware it will be his daughter. The prince and princess are kept together, his love having been turned into bitterness, yet forced to collaborate to survive, they grow closer and ultimately take on the spirit.