THE MAGIC EGG. 237

now sit on my back once more.” The man did SO,
and the eagle flew with him as high as the small
fleecy clouds, and then he shook him off, and down
he fell headlong; but when he was but a hand’s-
breadth from the earth, the eagle again flew beneath
him and held him up, and said to him: “How dost
thou feel now?” And he replied: “I feel as if I
no longer belonged to this world!”—“That is just
how I felt when thou didst aim at me the third time,”
replied the cagle. “ But now,” continued the bird,
“thou art guilty no more. We are quits. I owe
thee nought, and thou owest nought to me; so sit
on my back again, and I'll take thee to my master.”
They flew on and on, they dew till they came to
the eagle’s uncle. And the eagle said to the archer:
“Go to my house, and when they ask thee: ‘ Hast
thou not seen our poor child?’ reply, ‘Give me the
magic egg, and V’ll bring him before your eyes!’”
So he went to the house, and there they said to
him: “Hast thou heard of our poor child with thine
ears, or seen him with thine eyes, and hast thou
come hither willingly or unwillingly ?”—And he
answered: “I have come hither willingly !”’—Then
they asked: “Hast thou smelt out anything of our
poor youngster ? for it is three years now since he
went to the wars, and there’s neither sight nor sound
of him more!”—And he answered: “Give me the