mething in a little pot,
and her daughter secretly warned the travellers to be very careful not
to eat or drink anything, as the old woman's brews were apt to be
dangerous.

They went to bed, and slept soundly till morning. When they were ready
to start and the King's son had already mounted his horse the old woman
said: 'Wait a minute, I must give you a stirrup cup.' Whilst she went to
fetch it the King's son rode off, and the servant who had waited to
tighten his saddle-girths was alone when the witch returned.

'Take that to your master,' she said; but as she spoke the glass cracked
and the poison spurted over the horse, and it was so powerful that the
poor creature sank down dead. The servant ran after his master and told
him what had happened, and then, not wishing to lose the saddle as well
as the horse, he went back to fetch it. When he got to the spot he saw
that a raven had perched on the carcase and was pecking at it. 'Who
knows whether we shall get anything better to eat to-day!' said the
servant, and he shot the raven and carried it off.

[Illustration]

Then they rode on all day through the forest without coming to the end.
At night-fall they reached an inn, which they entered, and the servant
gave the landlord the raven to dress for their supper. Now, as it
happened, this inn was a regular resort of a band of murderers, and the
old witch too was in the habit of frequenting it.

As soon as it was dark twelve murderers arrived, with the full intention
of killing and robbing the strangers. Before they set to work, however,
they sat down to table, and the landlord and the old witch joined them,
and they all ate some broth in which the flesh of the raven had been
stewed down. They had hardly taken a couple of spoonfuls when they all
fell down dead, for the poison had passed from the horse to the raven
and so into the broth. So there was no one left belonging to the house
but the landlord's daughter, who was a good, well-meaning girl, and had
taken no part in all the evil doings.

She opened all the doors, and showed the strangers the treasures the
robbers had gathered together; but the Prince bade her keep them all for
herself, as he wanted none of them, and so he rode further with his
servant.

After travelling about for some length of time they reached a town where
lived a lovely but most arrogant Princess. She had given out that anyone
who asked her a riddle which she found herself unable to guess sh