Shooting an apple off ones childs head.

Shooting the apple from a child's head, also known as Apple-Shot, is a feat of marksmanship with a bow or crossbow that appears as a theme in a variety of Germanic folklore legends. The theme is F661.3 in the stith Thompson index, and it is represented as "the marksman shots an Apple off the head of a friend" or "Apple fired from the head of a friend," but it often appears in the form of arrows that they were instructed to shoot the Apple off his own son's head. As William points out, he is better remembered for his feat.

At Palnatoki

The motif first appears in the 12th century, in Saxo Grammaticus' edition of Palnatoki's novel, which he refers to as the storey of Denmark Toko gest 10, Chapter 7. Toko, who served in the king's service for a time, made many rivals of his virtues by actions through which he outperformed his fellow soldiers. When he was intoxicated, he joked to those at the table with him that his archery ability was such that he could strike with the first fired bows, even a very small Apple is at the tip of the rod at a substantial pace.When his opponents heard these sentences, they wasted no time in getting them to the king's ears. But the Prince's wickedness easily gave hope to the father in danger of his son, ordering the sweet pledge of his life to stand instead of the wand, from which, if the utterer of the boast did not reach the Apple that was offered to him at the first shot with his arrow, he should pay the penalty of his hollow words with his own head. As the boy was brought here, he was softly admonished to get the next whistle of the arrow as slowly as practicable, with attentive ears, and without shaking the head to a small movement of your body, lest he frustrate the confidence of his proven abilities.He did so to shorten his capture and to demonstrate to him that he could not be afraid at the sight of the shot. Then he drew three arrows from his quiver, and his first shot hit the target. When the king asked why he took so many arrows from the quiver when he only needed to make one trial with the bow, Toko replied, "that I may avenge you, - he said - the errors of the first points others to my innocence might hap to be afflicted, and thy wrong go unpunished!" Palnatoki later assassinates the King.

In Þidrekssaga

In the 13th century Þidrekssaga, Chapter 128, King Nidung orders Egil, Volund's brother, to fire an apple off his three-year-old son's head: Now the king wanted to see whether Egill shot as well as he said, so he adopted Egill's son, a three-year-old boy, and had them put an Apple on his head, and told Egill to shoot so that the shaft struck neither above the head, nor to the left, nor to the right. As Palnatoki, he carries two arrows with which to destroy the king if he fails, but the king does not blame him for his speech, but rather praises him: "the king took that well from him, and everyone felt it was confidently spoken."