THE STORY OF LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY. 77

to le down and the tooth killed him. His wife
thought that he was sulky, and therefore did not
speak to her, so she begged him not to be angry;
and, getting no answer, took him by the hand, and
lo! his hand was cold, as cold as lead, and she
screamed out. But Protius came bounding through
the door and kissed his master. Then the little
‘Tsar became alive again, but Protius died. Then
Nedviga kissed Protius and Protius became alive, but
Nedviga died. Then the Tsarevko said to Medvedik :
“Kiss Nedviga!” He did so, and Nedviga became
alive again, but Medvedik died. And so they went
on kissing each other from the greatest to the
smallest, till the turn came to puss. Puss kissed
Vovehok and died, but Vovchok remained alive.
What was to be done? Now that puss had died
there was none to kiss her back into life again.
“JXiss puss,” said the little Tsar to the little fox.
But the little fox was artful, and taking puss on his
shoulder, he trotted off to the forest. He carried her
to a place where lay a felled oak, with two branches
one on the top of the other, and put the hare on the
lower branch; then he ran under the branch and kissed
the hare, but took good care that the branch should
be between them. Thereupon the serpent’s tooth
flew out of the hare and fastened itself in the upper
branch, and both the fox and puss scampered back out