agely began
to drink it up.

"Before you have swallowed all that river you will burst, you wicked
old witch," cried Niezguinek. Then he rejoined his brothers.

But the old woman drank all the water, crossed the bed of the river in
her trough, and soon came near the young people. Niezguinek shook his
handkerchief, and a lake immediately spread out between them. So she
was again obliged to stop, and shrieking with rage began to drink up
the water.

"Before you have drunk that lake dry you will have burst yourself,"
said Niezguinek, and rode after his brothers.

The old vixen drank up part of the water, and turning the remainder
into a thick fog, hastened along in her trough. She was once more
close upon the young men when Niezguinek, without a moment's delay,
seized his brush, and as he waved it in the air a thick forest rose
between them. For a time the witch was at a loss to know what to do.
On one side she saw Niezguinek and his brothers rapidly disappearing,
while she stood on the other hindered by the branches and torn by the
thorns of the thick bushes, unable either to advance or retreat.
Foaming with rage, with fire flashing from her eyes, she struck right
and left with her crutches, crashing trees on all sides, but before
she could clear a way those she was in pursuit of had got more than a
hundred miles ahead.

So she was forced to give up, and grinding her teeth, howling, and
tearing out her hair, she threw after the fugitives such flaming
glances from her eyes that she set the forest on fire, and taking the
road home was soon lost to sight.

The travellers, seeing the flames, guessed what had happened, and
thanked God for having preserved them from such great dangers. They
continued their journey, and by eventide arrived at the top of a steep
hill. There they saw a town besieged by foreign troops, who had
already destroyed the outer part, and only awaited daylight to take it
by storm.

The twelve brothers kept out of sight behind the enemy; and when they
had rested and turned out their horses to graze all went to sleep
except Niezguinek, who kept watch without closing an eye. When
everything was perfectly still he got up, and calling his horse, said,
"Listen; yonder in that tent sleeps the king of this besieging army,
and he dreams of the victory he hopes for on the morrow: how could we
send all the soldiers to sleep and get possession of his person?"

The horse replied, "You will find some dried lea