risoner had flown. He sent at once for his talking
horse, and said to him:

'Give me your advice; what shall I do--have my supper as usual, or set
out in pursuit of them?'

'Eat your supper with a free mind first,' answered the horse, 'and
follow them afterwards.'

So the dragon ate till it was past mid-day, and when he could eat no
more he mounted his horse and set out after the fugitives. In a short
time he had come up with them, and as he snatched the empress out of her
saddle he said to the prince:

'This time I will forgive you, because you brought me the water when I
was in the cask; but beware how you return here, or you will pay for it
with your life.'

Half mad with grief, the prince rode sadly on a little further, hardly
knowing what he was doing. Then he could bear it no longer and turned
back to the palace, in spite of the dragon's threats. Again the empress
was sitting alone, and once more they began to think of a scheme by
which they could escape the dragon's power.

'Ask the dragon when he comes home,' said the prince, 'where he got that
wonderful horse from, and then you can tell me, and I will try to find
another like it.'

Then, fearing to meet his enemy, he stole out of the castle.

Soon after the dragon came home, and the empress sat down near him, and
began to coax and flatter him into a good humour, and at last she said:

'But tell me about that wonderful horse you were riding yesterday.
There cannot be another like it in the whole world. Where did you get it
from?'

And he answered:

'The way I got it is a way which no one else can take. On the top of a
high mountain dwells an old woman, who has in her stables twelve horses,
each one more beautiful than the other. And in one corner is a thin,
wretched-looking animal whom no one would glance at a second time,
but he is in reality the best of the lot. He is twin brother to my own
horse, and can fly as high as the clouds themselves. But no one can ever
get this horse without first serving the old woman for three whole days.
And besides the horses she has a foal and its mother, and the man who
serves her must look after them for three whole days, and if he does not
let them run away he will in the end get the choice of any horse as a
present from the old woman. But if he fails to keep the foal and its
mother safe on any one of the three nights his head will pay.'

The next day the prince watched till the dragon left the house, and then