So the brothers hied them off to the town, and went to the horse-market. There were many horses there, but they chose none of them, for they were not good enough mounts for the good brothers. So one of the brothers said to the other: "Let us go to the other end of the square; look how the people are all running together there. There is something strange going on." Thither they went and joined the crowd; and there stood two mares tied to stout oaken posts with iron clamps; one with six clamps, and the other with twelve clamps. The horses were tugging at their chains, gnawing their bits, and digging up the ground with their hoofs. No one was able to go near them. "What is the price of thy mares?" asked Ivan, the soldier's son, of the owner. "Don't thrust thy nose in here, friend!--such mares are not for the like of thee. Ask no more about them!"--"How dost thou know what I am? Maybe I'll buy them, but I must first look at their teeth." The horse-dealer smiled: "Look out for your heads, that's all!" One of the brothers then drew near to the mare that was fastened by six clamps, and the other brother to the mare that was fastened by twelve. They tried to look at the horses' teeth, but how was it to be done? The mares rose on their hind legs and pawed the air. Then the brothers struck them in the breast with their knees; the chains which held the horses burst, and the mares flew up into the air five fathoms high, and fell down with their legs uppermost. "Well!" cried the brothers, "that's not much to boast of. We would not take such horses at a gift." The crowd cried "Oh!" and was amazed. "What strong and stalwart heroes are these?" The horse-dealer was almost in tears. The mares galloped all over the town, and made off over the wide steppe; nobody dared approach them, and nobody knew how to catch them. The sons of Ivan the soldier were sorry for the horse-dealer. They went out into the open steppe, cried with a piercing voice and whistled lustily, and the mares came running back and stood in their proper place as if they had been nailed there. Then the good youths put the iron chains upon them again, and tied them to the oaken posts, and bound them tightly. This they did, and then they went homewards. As they were going along there met them an old graybeard. They forgot what their mother had told them, and passed him by without greeting him. Suddenly one of them recollected himself and cried: "Oh, brother! what have we done? We never gave that old man a bow; let us run after him and bow to him!" They ran after the old man, took off their little caps, bowed to the very girdle, and said, "Forgive us, dear little father, for passing thee by without a greeting. Our mother straightly charged us to pay honour to every one we met in the way."--"Thanks, good youths! whither is God leading you?"--"We have been to the town fair; we wanted to buy us a good horse apiece, but there are none there