284 SLAV TALES

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the royal
bride vanished, while in her place sat a red fox, who with
one vigorous bound sprang through the door and disappeared
to rejoin the prince, who had hastened on in front. With
sweeping strokes of his bushy tail he overthrew bridges,
reopened precipices, and heaped up mountains; but it was
very hard work for the poor thing, and he did not come up
with the runaways until they had almost reached the copper
castle. Here they all had a rest, while the red fox turned
a somersault and transformed himself into a horse resembling
the one with the golden mane. Then the prince entered the
copper castle and exchanged the transformed fox for the fire-
bird Ohnivak, the king having no suspicions whatever. The
red fox, having thus deceived the monarch, reassumed his
own shape and hurried after the departing prince, whom he
did not overtake until they had reached the banks of the
river where they had first become acquainted.

“Now here you are, prince,” said the red fox, “in
possession of Ohnivak, of the lovely Zlato-Vlaska, and of
the Horse with the Golden Mane. Henceforth you can
manage without my help, so return to your father’s house
in peace and joy; but, take warning, do not stop anywhere
on the way, for if you do some misfortune will overtake you.”

With these words the red fox vanished, while the prince
continued his journey unhindered. In his hand he held the
golden cage that contained the fire-bird, and at his side the
lovely Zlato-Vlaska rode the Horse with the Golden Mane;
truly, he was the happiest of men.

When he reached the cross roads where he had parted
from his brothers, he hastened to look for the branches they