then he came to the king 's court , where great sorrow reigned because , once upon a time , when the king was sailing out at sea , a sea troll had called up a terrible tempest , so that the ship was about to sink . in order to escape with his life , the king had to promise the sea troll to give him whatever first came his way when he reached shore . the king thought his hunting dog would be the first to come running to meet him , as usual ; but instead his three young daughters came rowing out to meet him in a boat . this filled the king with grief , and he vowed that whoever delivered his daughters should have one of them for a bride , whichever one he might choose . but the only man who seemed to want to earn the reward was a tailor , named red peter .
the king owed his three daughters to a sea troll .
why did great sorrow reign at the king's court ?
why did great sorrow reign at the king's court ?