they heard this the brothers set to work again to earn some more
money, and when they had got enough they set about building a church,
which should be as large and beautiful as the palace itself.

And after the church was finished greater numbers of people than
ever flocked to see the palace and the church and vast gardens and
magnificent halls.

But one day, as the brothers were as usual doing the honours to their
guests, an old man turned to them and said, 'Yes, it is all most
beautiful, but there is still something it needs!'

'And what may that be?'

'A pitcher of the water of life, a branch of the tree the smell of whose
flowers gives eternal beauty, and the talking bird.'

'And where am I to find all those?'

'Go to the mountain that is far off yonder, and you will find what you
seek.'

After the old man had bowed politely and taken farewell of them the
eldest brother said to the rest, 'I will go in search of the water of
life, and the talking bird, and the tree of beauty.'

'But suppose some evil thing befalls you?' asked his sister. 'How shall
we know?'

'You are right,' he replied; ' I had not thought of that!'

Then they followed the old man, and said to him, 'My eldest brother
wishes to seek for the water of life, and the tree of beauty, and the
talking bird, that you tell him are needful to make our palace perfect.
But how shall we know if any evil thing befall him?'

So the old man took them a knife, and gave it to them, saying, 'Keep
this carefully, and as long as the blade is bright all is well; but if
the blade is bloody, then know that evil has befallen him.'

The brothers thanked him, and departed, and went straight to the palace,
where they found the young man making ready to set out for the mountain
where the treasures he longed for lay hid.

And he walked, and he walked, and he walked, till he had gone a great
way, and there he met a giant.

'Can you tell me how much further I have still to go before I reach that
mountain yonder?'

'And why do you wish to go there?'

'I am seeking the water of life, the talking bird, and a branch of the
tree of beauty.'

'Many have passed by seeking those treasures, but none have ever come
back; and you will never come back either, unless you mark my words.
Follow this path, and when you reach the mountain you will find it
covered with stones. Do not stop to look at them, but keep on your way.
As you go you will hear scoffs and laughs behind