“Yes, but it is not so easy a thing as you think to ride the horse
home,” said the Master-maid; “but I will teach you what to do. When you
go near it, fire will burst out of its nostrils like flames from a pine
torch; but be very careful, and take the bridle which is hanging by the
door there, and fling the bit straight into his jaws, and then it will
become so tame that you will be able to do what you like with it.” He
said he would bear this in mind, and then he again sat in there the
whole day by the Master-maid, and they chatted and talked of one thing
and another, but the first thing and the last now was, how happy and
delightful it would be if they could but marry each other, and get
safely away from the giant; and the Prince would have forgotten both the
mountain-side and the horse if the Master-maid had not reminded him of
them as evening drew near, and said that now it would be better if he
went to fetch the horse before the giant came. So he did this, and
took the bridle which was hanging on a crook, and strode up the
mountain-side, and it was not long before he met with the horse, and
fire and red flames streamed forth out of its nostrils. But the youth
carefully watched his opportunity, and just as it was rushing at him
with open jaws he threw the bit straight into its mouth, and the horse
stood as quiet as a young lamb, and there was no difficulty at all in
getting it home to the stable. Then the Prince went back into his room
again, and began to hum and to sing.
Toward evening the giant came home. “Have you fetched the horse back
from the mountain-side?” he asked.
“That I have, master; it was an amusing horse to ride, but I rode him
straight home, and put him in the stable too,” said the Prince.
“I will see about that,” said the giant, and went out to the stable,
but the horse was standing there just as the Prince had said. “You have
certainly been talking with my Master-maid, for you never got that out
of your own head,” said the giant again.
“Yesterday, master, you talked about this Master-maid, and to-day you
are talking about her; ah, heaven bless you, master, why will you not
show me the thing? for it would be a real pleasure to me to see it,”
said the Prince, who again pretended to be silly and stupid.
“Oh! you will see her quite soon enough,” said the giant.
On the morning of the third day the giant again had to go into the wood
with the goats. “To-day you must go underground and fetch my taxes,”
he said to the Prince. “When you have done this, you may rest for the
remainder of the day, for you shall see what an easy master you have
come to,” and then he went away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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