this journey,
whenever you come to a cross-road always look at this diamond before
you settle which way you are going to take. If it sparkles as brightly
as ever go straight on, but if its lustre is dimmed choose another
path.'

Then Militza bent over the Prince and kissed him on his forehead, and
before he had time to say a word she vanished through the branches of
the tree in a little white cloud.

Morning broke, and the Prince, still full of the wonderful apparition,
left his perch and returned to the palace like one in a dream, without
even knowing if the fruit had been taken or not; for his whole mind
was absorbed by thoughts of Militza and how he was to find her.

As soon as the head-gardener saw the Prince going towards the palace
he ran to the trees, and when he saw them laden with ripe fruit he
hastened to tell the King the joyful news. The King was beside himself
for joy, and hurried at once to the garden and made the gardener pick
him some of the fruit. He tasted it, and found the apple quite as
luscious as it had been in his dream. He went at once to his son
Iwanich, and after embracing him tenderly and heaping praises on him,
he asked him how he had succeeded in protecting the costly fruit from
the power of the magician.

This question placed Iwanich in a dilemma. But as he did not want the
real story to be known, he said that about midnight a huge wasp had
flown through the branches, and buzzed incessantly round him. He had
warded it off with his sword, and at dawn, when he was becoming quite
worn out, the wasp had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

The King, who never doubted the truth of this tale, bade his son go to
rest at once and recover from the fatigues of the night; but he
himself went and ordered many feasts to be held in honour of the
preservation of the wonderful fruit.

The whole capital was in a stir, and everyone shared in the King's
joy; the Prince alone took no part in the festivities.

While the King was at a banquet, Iwanich took some purses of gold, and
mounting the quickest horse in the royal stable, he sped off like the
wind without a single soul being any the wiser.

It was only on the next day that they missed him; the King was very
distressed at his disappearance, and sent search-parties all over the
kingdom to look for him, but in vain; and after six months they gave
him up as dead, and in another six months they had forgotten all about
him. But in the meantime t