THE DWARF WITH THE LONG BEARD IIQ

that his tenderest efforts were powerless to awake her, he
wanted to know the reason of it.

“That I cannot tell you,” replied the impostor; ‘you see
her as I found her myself.”

Meanwhile, poor Prince Dobrotek, seriously wounded,
was slowly recovering consciousness, but he felt so weak that
he could hardly utter these words :

“Come, Magic Horse with Mane of Gold,
Come, Dappled Horse, O come to me.
Fly like the birds as you did of old,

As flashes of lightning o’er land and sea.”

Instantly a bright cloud appeared, and from the midst
thereof stepped the magic horse. As he already knew all
that had happened, he dashed off immediately to the Mountain
of Eternal Life. Thence he drew the three kinds of water:
the Water that gives Life, the Water that Cures, and the Water
that Strengthens. Returning to the prince, he sprinkled him
first with the Life-giving Water, and instantly the body, which
had become cold, was warm again and the blood began to
circulate. ‘The Water that Cures healed the wound, and the
Strength-giving Water had such an effect upon him that he
opened his eyes and cried out, ‘Oh, how well I have slept.”

“Vou were already sleeping the eternal sleep,” replied the
dappled horse. ‘One of your rivals stabbed you mortally,
and carried off Pietnotka, whom he pretends to have rescued.
But do not worry yourself, she still sleeps, and none can
arouse her but you, and this you must do by touching her
with the dwarf’s beard. Go now, and be happy.”

The brave steed disappeared in a whirlwind, and Prince