parisoned that he could not resist rising at once and
mounting it; and in the threshold corner there was a self-slicing
sword, and in the third corner stood the dog _Protius_[9], and in the
stove corner stood the dog _Nedviga_[9]. The little Tsar longed to be
off. "Rise, little sister!" cried he. "God has been good to us! Rise,
dear little sister, and let us pray to God!" So they arose and prayed
to God, and while they prayed the day dawned. Then he mounted his
horse and took the dogs with him, that he might live by what they
caught.

[9] The two fabulous hounds of Ruthenian legend.

So they lived in their hut by the sea, and one day the sister went
down to the sea to wash her bed-linen and her body-linen in the blue
waters. And the serpent came and said to her, "How didst thou manage
to jump over the sea?"--"Look, now!" said she, "we crossed over in
this way. My brother has a handkerchief which becomes a bridge when he
waves it behind him."--And the serpent said to her, "I tell thee what,
ask him for this handkerchief; say thou dost want to wash it, and take
and wave it, and I'll then be able to cross over to thee and live with
thee, and we'll poison thy brother."--Then she went home and said to
her brother, "Give me that handkerchief, dear little brother; it is
dirty, so I'll wash and give it back to thee." And he believed her and
gave it to her, for she was dear to him, and he thought her good and
true. Then she took the handkerchief, went down to the sea, and waved
it--and behold there was a bridge. Then the serpent crossed over to
her side, and they walked to the hut together and consulted as to the
best way of destroying her brother and removing him from God's fair
world. Now it was his custom to rise at dawn, mount his horse, and go
a-hunting, for hunting he dearly loved. So the serpent said to her,
"Take to thy bed and pretend to be ill, and say to him, 'I dreamed a
dream, dear brother, and lo, I saw thee go and fetch me wolf's milk to
make me well.' Then he'll go and fetch it, and the wolves will tear
his dogs to pieces, and then we can take and do to him as we list, for
his strength is in his dogs."

So when the brother came home from hunting the serpent hid himself,
but the sister said, "I have dreamed a dream, dear brother. Methought
thou didst go and fetch me wolf's milk, and I drank of it, and my
health came back to me, for I am so weak that God grant I die
not."--"I'll fetch it," said her brother. S