[The conclusion of this story is somewhat obscure. Most of the variants represent the Prince as forgiving his brothers, and allowing them to marry two of the three princesses, but the present version appears to keep closer to its original, in which the prince doubtless married all three. With this story may be compared: Grimm, No. 166, "Der starke Hans," and No. 91, "Dat Erdmänneken." See also vol. iii. p. 165, where a reference is given to the Hungarian story in Gaal, No. 5--Dasent, No. 55, "The Big Bird Dan," and No. 56, "Soria Moria Castle" (Asbjörnsen and Moe, Nos. 3 and 2. A somewhat similar story, only the palaces are in the air, occurs in Asbjörnsen's "Ny Samling," No. 72)--Campbell's "Tales of the West Highlands," No. 58--Schleicher's "Litauische Märchen," No. 38--The Polish story, Wojcicki, Book iii. No. 6, in which Norka is replaced by a witch who breaks the windows of a church, and is wounded, in falcon-shape, by the youngest brother--Hahn, No. 70, in which a Drakos, as a cloud, steals golden apples, a story closely resembling the Russian skazka. See also No. 26, very similar to which is the Servian Story in "Vuk Karajich," No. 2--and a very interesting Tuscan story printed for the first time by A. de Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," vol. ii. p. 187. See also ibid. p. 391. But still more important than these are the parallels offered by Indian fiction. Take, for instance, the story of Sringabhuja, in chap. xxxix. of book vii. of the "Kathásaritságara." In it the elder sons of a certain king wish to get rid of their younger half-brother. One day a Rákshasa appears in the form of a gigantic crane. The other princes shoot at it in vain, but the youngest wounds it, and then sets off in pursuit of it, and of the valuable arrow which is fixed in it. After long wandering he comes to a castle in a forest. There he finds a maiden who tells him she is the daughter of the Rákshasa whom, in the form of a crane, he has wounded. She at once takes his part against her demon father, and eventually flies with him to his own country. The perils which the fugitives have to encounter will be mentioned in the remarks on Skazka XIX. See Professor Brockhaus's summary of the story in the "Berichte der phil. hist. Classe der K. Sächs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften," 1861, pp. 223-6. Also Professor Wilson's version in his "Essays on Sanskrit Literature," vol. ii. pp. 134-5.