wicked mother and never allowed to see the golden
light of the sun. There are forty-eight chambers in the cavern and each
chamber is guarded by a watch of twelve guards. Steal softly through
each chamber when the eyes of all the guards are wide open and staring
straight at you. In the last chamber of all you will find the Golden
Maiden playing in her Golden Cradle. Over the Cradle stands a fearful
ghost who will cry out to you to go away and threaten to kill you. But
don't be afraid. It is only an empty ghost which the wicked mother has
placed there to frighten men off from rescuing the Golden Maiden. Take
the Golden Maiden by the hand, put the Golden Cradle on your shoulder,
and hurry back to me. But one thing: As you leave each chamber be sure
to lock the door after you so that the guards when they wake cannot
follow you."

Janko crept into the cavern and cautiously made his way from chamber to
chamber through the wide-eyed guards. In the forty-eighth chamber he
found the Golden Maiden playing in her Golden Cradle. He ran to take her
when a horrible creature rose above the Cradle and in hollow tones
cried: "Back! Back! Back!" For a moment Janko was frightened, then he
remembered that the awful creature was only an empty ghost. So he went
boldly up to the Golden Cradle and sure enough the ghost faded away.

"You have come to rescue me, haven't you?" the Golden Maiden cried.

She gave Janko her hand and he helped her to her feet. Then he put the
Golden Cradle on his shoulder and together they hurried out from chamber
to chamber. And I am happy to tell you that this time Janko remembered
the Little Fox's warning and locked the door of every chamber as they
left it. So they reached the upper world safely and found the Little Fox
waiting for them.

"There's no time to lose," the Little Fox said. "Put the Cradle across
my back, Janko, and take hold of my tail with one hand and give your
other hand to the Golden Maiden and away we'll go."

Janko did as the Little Fox said and away they all three went.

When they reached the stable of the Golden Horse, the Little Fox said:

"It doesn't seem right to give the Golden Maiden to the king of the
Golden Horse unless she wants us to, does it?"

The Golden Maiden at once begged them to keep her.

"Don't give me to the king of the Golden Horse!" she said. "I want to
stay with Janko who has rescued me!"

"But unless I give up the Golden Maiden," Janko asked, "how can I get