The Ash Lad and the Lying Princess The Ash Lad (also, for some reason, called Boots) is a popular Norwegian fairy-tale hero who reads pretty much like your typical mysterious bad boy. He’s the youngest of three brothers, and he’s usually considered pretty useless—his brothers are practical or strong or whatever, while the Ash Lad just sits around being witty and skinny. In this tale, he’s confronted with a princess who’s a pathological liar and tasked with getting her to admit she has a problem. It’s not hard to imagine this story set in some modern-day psych ward or wacky summer camp, with Boots’ dumb brothers thrown in as successful jocks for fun.