by the palace of the
princess, who was at the window, and those brothers looked so much alike
that when she saw him she thought it was her husband and called him. He
entered and she spoke to him of the fog, but he did not understand her;
he let her talk on, however, imagining that his brother was mixed up in
that affair. The next morning he arose and went to see the fog with his
dog and horse. He passed through the fog, found the mountain and the two
ladies, and, to make the story short, the same thing happened to him
that happened to his brother, and he became stone. And the queen waited,
and in the father's kitchen the bone dropped blood faster than ever.

The third brother too set out with his dog and horse. When he came to
the palace, the princess saw him from the window, took him for her
husband, and called him in. He entered and she reproved him for having
made her wait so long, and spoke of the mist; but he did not understand
her and said: "I did not see very clearly what was in the mist, and I
wish to go there again." He departed, and when he had passed through the
mist he met an old man who said to him: "Where are you going? Take care,
your brothers have been turned into statues. You will meet two ladies;
if they ask you to play chess with them, here are two pawns, say that
you cannot play except with your own pawns. Then make an agreement with
them that, if you win, you can do with them what you please; if they
win, they can do what they please with you. If you win, and they beg for
mercy, command them to restore to life all the stone statues with which
the palace is filled, and when they have done so, you can do what you
will with these ladies."

The youth thanked the old man, departed, followed his directions, and
won. The two ladies begged for their lives, and he granted their prayer
on condition of restoring to life all those stone statues. They took a
wand, touched the statues, and they became animated; but no sooner were
they all restored to life than they fell on the two ladies and cut them
into bits no larger than their ears.

Thus the three brothers were reunited. They related their adventures,
and returned to the palace. The princess was astonished when she saw
them, and did not know which was her husband. But he made himself known,
told her that these were his brothers, and they had their parents come
there, and they all lived happily together, and thus the story is
ended.[12]

* *