then it craned its neck towards the farther opening of the cave, and,
flapping its wings as if about to fly, ran a step or two and then
stopped and looked back at him. After doing this two or three times it
crouched down and turned its head sideways, looking straight at him, as
much as to say, 'Don't you want to ride in the air?'

The Prince saw the bird's meaning, but, to signify that he wanted to
find the Princess, he pointed to the picture. At this the bird spread
its wings right out until the tips brushed against each side of the
cave, the feathers quivering intensely and throwing out a bright light
which almost blinded the Prince.

Then the bird drew in its wings and made a sign to him to mount between
them. At this the Prince, feeling sure that the giant bird meant to take
him to the Princess, climbed up and seated himself between the great
wings.

In another moment the bird had launched itself from the farther opening
of the cave, and they were soon sailing high over the valley. Some
revellers in the city looked up and saw what they took to be a meteor
flashing across the sky; but it was really the Fire Bird bearing the
Prince swiftly to the far-off palace of the Princess.

How many thousands of miles they flew between the darkest hour and dawn,
the Prince could not tell. Nestling warm and comfortable among the soft
feathers, he heard the roar of the great creature's wings, and knew they
were travelling at a tremendous pace. And at last the Fire Bird craned
its neck downwards, and, as they began to descend in a slanting
direction, the Prince could see something sparkling on the horizon in
the first rosy light of dawn.

Nearer and nearer they came, and now he could distinguish the great
gates and towers of what seemed to be a palace of pure crystal,
surrounded by beautiful gardens.

Swiftly they swooped downwards, and the Fire Bird alighted on the edge
of a broad balcony, and crouched down for the Prince to dismount.

The journey had not been in vain. There, on a mossy bank among the
beautiful flowers in the garden, he found the Princess asleep; and, as
he looked down at her, he saw that her face was the face he had seen in
the portrait.

He tried to wake her, but her sleep was sound: she did not stir. He
breathed on her eyelids and whispered in her ear, but still she slept
on.

Seeing this, the Bird grew restless, and craning its neck forward,
seized the Prince with its beak and placed him again betw