man went nearly
mad when he heard the result of his own folly, and could only cry out
that he would follow the dragon to the ends of the earth, until he got
his wife again.

For months and months he wandered about, first in this direction and
then in that, without finding any traces of the dragon or his captive.
At last he came to a stream, and as he stopped for a moment to look
at it he noticed a little fish lying on the bank, beating its tail
convulsively, in a vain effort to get back into the water.

'Oh, for pity's sake, my brother,' shrieked the little creature, 'help
me, and put me back into the river, and I will repay you some day. Take
one of my scales, and when you are in danger twist it in your fingers,
and I will come!'

The prince picked up the fish and threw it into the water; then he took
off one of its scales, as he had been told, and put it in his pocket,
carefully wrapped in a cloth. Then he went on his way till, some miles
further down the road, he found a fox caught in a trap.

'Oh! be a brother to me!' called the fox, 'and free me from this trap,
and I will help you when you are in need. Pull out one of my hairs, and
when you are in danger twist it in your fingers, and I will come.'

So the prince unfastened the trap, pulled out one of the fox's hairs,
and continued his journey. And as he was going over the mountain he
passed a wolf entangled in a snare, who begged to be set at liberty.

'Only deliver me from death,' he said, 'and you will never be sorry
for it. Take a lock of my fur, and when you need me twist it in your
fingers.' And the prince undid the snare and let the wolf go.

For a long time he walked on, without having any more adventures, till
at length he met a man travelling on the same road.

'Oh, brother!' asked the prince, 'tell me, if you can, where the
dragon-emperor lives?'

The man told him where he would find the palace, and how long it would
take him to get there, and the prince thanked him, and followed his
directions, till that same evening he reached the town where the
dragon-emperor lived. When he entered the palace, to his great joy he
found his wife sitting alone in a vast hall, and they began hastily to
invent plans for her escape.

There was no time to waste, as the dragon might return directly, so they
took two horses out of the stable, and rode away at lightning speed.
Hardly were they out of sight of the palace than the dragon came home
and found that his p