pe. He had to remain in the castle against his will. In the morning
the princess came in. She was as beautiful as a dream. She thanked him for
the service and told him to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was
celebrated and they lived happily together.

After some time the soldier thought of his old home and wanted to visit it.

"Stay here, my friend! Do not go. Aren't you happy here?" asked the
princess.

But the soldier insisted upon going to see his old parents. Before
departing, his wife gave him a small bag full of seeds. "Wherever you go
throw these seeds on both sides of the road; wherever they fall trees will
grow up; upon the trees rare fruits will grow, beautiful birds will sing."

The soldier mounted his good old horse and departed. Wherever he went, he
threw the magic seeds; and after him forests rose as if creeping out of the
earth. On the third evening of his journey, in the middle of an open field,
he saw a group of men sitting upon the grass, playing cards. Near them a
kettle was hanging, and though there was no fire under it, the soup inside
was boiling.

"What a wonder!" thought the soldier. "No fire is to be seen yet the kettle
is boiling hot. Let me look at it." He turned his horse, approached the men
and said, "Good evening, honest people. You have a wonderful thing: a
kettle boiling without fire, but I have something more wonderful."

He took out one seed and threw it upon the ground. In a minute a tree grew
up, rare fruit upon its branches, wonderful birds singing beautiful songs.
Now the soldier did not know that these men were the magicians that had
enchanted the princess, his wife. They recognized him.

"Oh," said they, "that is the same fellow, who saved the princess. Let us
make him sleep for half a year."

They treated him with an enchanted drink. The soldier immediately fell fast
asleep, and the men with the kettle disappeared.

Soon after this the princess took a walk in her garden. There she saw that
all the tree-tops were dry and dead. "That foretells me nothing good";
thought she. "Something wrong must have happened to my husband. He has been
away for three months already. It is time for him to come back, and as yet
I have heard nothing of him." She decided then to go to look for him.

She went by the same road over which the soldier had gone. On both sides
forests were growing, and birds were singing. But after a while she reached
the place where there were no more trees.