"What are you talking about, God bless you! You've been flying through Russia, and got the air up your nostrils, that's why you fancy it's here," answered Prince Ivan's mother, and then she drew nigh to Koshchei, addressed him in terms of affection, asked him about one thing and another, and at last said: "Whereabouts is your death, O Koshchei?" "My death," he replied, "is in such a place. There stands an oak, and under the oak is a casket, and in the casket is a hare, and in the hare is a duck, and in the duck is an egg, and in the egg is my death." Having thus spoken, Koshchei the Deathless tarried there a little longer, and then flew away. The time came--Prince Ivan received his mother's blessing, and went to look for Koshchei's death. He went on his way a long time without eating or drinking; at last he felt mortally hungry, and thought, "If only something would come my way!" Suddenly there appeared a young wolf; he determined to kill it. But out from a hole sprang the she wolf, and said, "Don't hurt my little one; I'll do you a good turn." Very good! Prince Ivan let the young wolf go. On he went and saw a crow. "Stop a bit," he thought, "here I shall get a mouthful." He loaded his gun and was going to shoot, but the crow exclaimed, "Don't hurt me; I'll do you a good turn." Prince Ivan thought the matter over and spared the crow. Then he went farther, and came to a sea and stood still on the shore. At that moment a young pike suddenly jumped out of the water and fell on the strand. He caught hold of it, and thought--for he was half dead with hunger--"Now I shall have something to eat." All of a sudden appeared a pike and said, "Don't hurt my little one, Prince Ivan; I'll do you a good turn." And so he spared the little pike also. But how was he to cross the sea? He sat down on the shore and meditated. But the pike knew quite well what he was thinking about, and laid herself right across the sea. Prince Ivan walked along her back, as if he were going over a bridge, and came to the oak where Koshchei's death was. There he found the casket and opened it--out jumped the hare and ran away. How was the hare to be stopped?