was the matter.

'I have had another letter from the Sultan,' replied the king, 'and
he says that if I cannot tell him which of three foals was born in the
morning, which at noon, and which in the evening, he will declare war at
once.'

'Oh, don't be cast down,' said she, 'something is sure to happen'; and
she ran down to the tower to consult the youth.

'Go home, idol of my heart, and when night comes, pretend to scream out
in your sleep, so that your father hears you. Then tell him that you
have dreamt that he was just being carried off by the Turks because he
could not answer the question about the foals, when the lad whom he
had shut up in the tower ran up and told them which was foaled in the
morning, which at noon, and which in the evening.'

So the princess did exactly as the youth had bidden her; and no sooner
had she spoken than the king ordered the tower to be pulled down, and
the prisoner brought before him.

'I did not think that you could have lived so long without food,' said
he, 'and as you have had plenty of time to repent your wicked conduct,
I will grant you pardon, on condition that you help me in a sore strait.
Read this letter from the Sultan; you will see that if I fail to answer
his question about the foals, a dreadful war will be the result.'

The youth took the letter and read it through. 'Yes, I can help you,'
replied he; 'but first you must bring me three troughs, all exactly
alike. Into one you must put oats, into another wheat, and into the
third barley. The foal which eats the oats is that which was foaled in
the morning; the foal which eats the wheat is that which was foaled at
noon; and the foal which eats the barley is that which was foaled at
night.' The king followed the youth's directions, and, marking the
foals, sent them back to Turkey, and there was no war that year.

Now the Sultan was very angry that both his plots to get possession of
Hungary had been such total failures, and he sent for his aunt, who was
a witch, to consult her as to what he should do next.

'It is not the king who has answered your questions,' observed the aunt,
when he had told his story. 'He is far too stupid ever to have done
that! The person who has found out the puzzle is the son of a poor
woman, who, if he lives, will become King of Hungary. Therefore, if you
want the crown yourself, you must get him here and kill him.'

After this conversation another letter was written to the Court of
Hungary