“O Ilyá, thou wilt be a great hero, and it is not written that thou shouldst die in battle. Fight thou with all the heroes and the bold warrior women of the plain, and defend thyself against them; only go not out to fight with the hero Svyatogór, for with his strength he could carry the earth; and fight not with the hero Samson, for he has upon his head seven hairs of angels; also fight not with the race of Mikúla, for damp Mother Earth loves him. Neither go after Volgá, son of Svyátoslav; he will overcome thee, not by force, but by craft and wisdom. Now rise up, O Ilyá, mount thy horse, and ride out into the free and open plain. Buy the first foal thou seest with its dam, and in three months’ time thou mayst put on the saddle. Feed him on millet and maize; walk him about for three months, then keep him for three nights in the garden, and roll the foal three mornings in the dew. Lead him to a high fence, and when he will readily leap the fence both from this side and the other, then ride him where thou wilt, he will carry thee.” Then the pilgrims vanished, and presently Ilyá’s father and mother came in from their work in the fields. His brother and sisters came in also from their work, and his father and mother were glad indeed to see that Ilyá could walk as if nothing had ever ailed him. Then from joy they became sad again, and said: “Thirty years has Ilyá been sitting on the bench as if he had neither hands nor feet!” And Ilyá said to his father: “Where have you been working to-day, father?” But his parents only said: “Glory to Thee, O Lord! Thirty years has Ilyá been sitting by the stove, and was he not without hands or feet?” And Ilyá asked again: “But you, father and mother, where have you been working on the farm?” “Well, Ilyá,” answered his father, “we are working in the field by the stream; we are clearing it for ploughing. It is the field three fields from home.” After they had dined Ilyá said to his parents: “Now, dear father and mother, take me to the water meadow. Show me my bit of work.” And his parents took him down to the water meadow, and Ilyá said: “Show me how far you will plough here,” and they showed him the boundary and sat down to rest. But Ilyá seized the brushwood by handfuls and cut it down by the roots and threw it all on to a pile on the edge of the field. And he worked so hard and so fast that the field was cleared in a quarter of the time that it would have taken his father to finish the work. The father and mother were asleep, for they were tired by the long morning’s work, but they awoke when Ilyá came towards them, saying: “Come, father and mother, is not your field well cleared for the ploughing? Now I must say good-bye to home!” Then Ilyá saddled his good horse and put on the bridle, and his father and mother gave him their farewell blessing.