e second sister, the one who lived in the silver
palace, and with her also he stayed awhile. She told him that
her brother Norka was then at her youngest sister's. So he
went on to the youngest sister, who lived in a golden palace.
She told him that her brother was at that time asleep on the
blue sea, and she gave him a sword of steel and a draught of the
Water of Strength, and she told him to cut off her brother's
head at a single stroke. And when he had heard these things,
he went his way.

And when the Prince came to the blue sea, he looked--there
slept Norka on a stone in the middle of the sea; and when it
snored, the water was agitated for seven versts around. The
Prince crossed himself, went up to it and smote it on the head
with his sword. The head jumped off, saying the while, "Well,
I'm done for now!" and rolled far away into the sea.

After killing the Beast, the Prince went back again, picking
up all the three sisters by the way, with the intention of taking
them out into the upper world: for they all loved him and would
not be separated from him. Each of them turned her palace
into an egg--for they were all enchantresses--and they taught
him how to turn the eggs into palaces, and back again, and they
handed over the eggs to him. And then they all went to the
place from which they had to be hoisted into the upper world.
And when they came to where the rope was, the Prince took
hold of it and made the maidens fast to it.[88] Then he jerked
away at the rope, and his brothers began to haul it up. And
when they had hauled it up, and had set eyes on the wondrous
maidens, they went aside and said: "Let's lower the rope, pull
our brother part of the way up, and then cut the rope. Perhaps
he'll be killed; but then if he isn't, he'll never give us these
beauties as wives."

So when they had agreed on this, they lowered the rope.
But their brother was no fool; he guessed what they were at,
so he fastened the rope to a stone, and then gave it a pull.
His brothers hoisted the stone to a great height, and then cut
the rope. Down fell the stone and broke in pieces; the Prince
poured forth tears and went away. Well, he walked and walked.
Presently a storm arose; the lightning flashed, the thunder
roared, the rain fell in torrents. He went up to a tree in order
to take shelter under it, and on that tree he saw some young
birds which were be