226 SLAV TALES

Whereupon the palace creaked round on the cock’s foot,
and the door opened on the courtyard. Mounting the horse
he placed the princess before him, for she had by this time
recovered from her swoon, and cried :

“Fiery Horse with strength of wing,
I am now your lord ;
Do my will in everything,
Be your law my word.
Where I point there you must go
At once, at once. The way you know.”

And he pointed to the place where his brothers lay frozen
in death. The horse rose, pranced, beat the air with his
wings, then, lifting himself high in the air, came down gently
where the two princes were lying. The Prince with the
Golden Hand sprinkled their bodies with the Life-Restoring
Water, and instantly the pallor of death disappeared, leaving
in its place the natural colour. He then sprinkled them with
the Water that Revives, after which they opened their eyes,
got up, and looking round said, ‘ How well we have slept:
but what has happened? And how is it we see the lovely
princess we sought in the society of a young man, a perfect
stranger to us?”

The Prince with the Golden Hand explained everything,
embraced his brothers tenderly, and taking them with him on
his horse, showed the latter that he wished to go in the direction
of Yaga’s cottage. ‘The horse rose up, pranced, lifted himself
in the air, then, beating his wings far above the highest forests,
descended close by the cottage. The prince said:

“ Little cot, turn around, on thy foot turn thou free;
To the forest thy back, but thy door wide to me.”