the youth, 'you shall soon have it.'

So he went out and made his way straight to the stable where the flying
horse was tethered. He stretched his hand cautiously out to seize the
bridle, when the horse suddenly began to neigh as loud as he could. Now
the room in which the dragon slept was just above the stable, and at
the sound of the neighing he woke and cried to the horse, 'What is the
matter, my treasure? is anything hurting you?' After waiting a little
while the young man tried again to loose the horse, but a second time it
neighed so loudly that the dragon woke up in a hurry and called out
to know why the horse was making such a noise. But when the same thing
happened the third time, the dragon lost his temper, and went down
into the stable and took a whip and gave the horse a good beating. This
offended the horse and made him angry, and when the young man stretched
out his hand to untie his head, he made no further fuss, but suffered
himself to be led quietly away. Once clear of the stable the young man
sprang on his back and galloped off, calling over his shoulder, 'Hi!
dragon! dragon! if anyone asks you what has become of your horse, you
can say that I have got him!'

But the king said, 'The flying horse is all very well, but I want
something more. You must bring me the covering with the little bells
that lies on the bed of the dragon, or I will have you hewn into a
thousand pieces.'

'Is that all?' answered the youth. 'That is easily done.'

And when night came he went away to the dragon's house and climbed up on
to the roof. Then he opened a little window in the roof and let down
the chain from which the kettle usually hung, and tried to hook the bed
covering and to draw it up. But the little bells all began to ring, and
the dragon woke and said to his wife, 'Wife, you have pulled off all the
bed-clothes!' and drew the covering towards him, pulling, as he did so,
the young man into the room. Then the dragon flung himself on the
youth and bound him fast with cords saying as he tied the last knot,
'To-morrow when I go to church you must stay at home and kill him and
cook him, and when I get back we will eat him together.'

So the following morning the dragoness took hold of the young man and
reached down from the shelf a sharp knife with which to kill him. But as
she untied the cords the better to get hold of him, the prisoner caught
her by the legs, threw her to the ground, seized her and speedily cut