"Only hear me out," said the Wolf; "I will change myself into a horse,
and carry you; but this steed of yours is not fit for the task we have
to do; in the city where the Princess lives, there are strings from
the walls to all the bells in the city; and we must leap over all
these without touching the smallest, otherwise we shall be taken."
Lyubim Tsarevich saw at once that the Wolf spoke wisely, so he
consented, and exclaimed, "On then!"
Away they went, until they came to the white stone wall of the city;
and when Lyubim Tsarevich looked on it he grew frightened. "How is it
possible to leap over this high white stone wall?" said he to the
Wolf. But the Wolf replied: "It is not hard for me to jump over this;
but afterwards fresh obstacles will arise, from your falling in love;
then you must bathe in the water of life, and take some for your
brothers, and also some of the water of death."
Thereupon they leaped safely over the city wall, without touching a
stone. Lyubim Tsarevich stopped at the palace and went to the court of
the beautiful Princess. And as he entered the first apartment he found
a number of chamber women all fast asleep, but the Princess was not
there; he found her not. Then went Lyubim Tsarevich into the second
room, where he found a number of beautiful ladies-in-waiting, all fast
asleep, but the Princess was still not there. Then Lyubim went into
the third apartment, and there he saw the Princess herself, sleeping;
and his heart was on fire with her beauty, and he fell so deeply in
love that he could not tear himself away from her presence. But at
last, fearing he might be seized if he remained too long, he went into
the garden to fetch some of the waters of life and of death. Then he
bathed in the water of life, and taking with him bladders-full of both
waters, he returned to his Wolf. And as he was sitting on his
Wolf-steed, the Wolf said to him: "You have become very heavy. We
cannot leap back over the wall, but shall strike against it and wake
everyone up. Nevertheless you shall kill them; and when they are all
slain, be sure to seize on a white horse. I will then help you to
fight; and as soon as we reach our tent, take your own steed, and I
will mount the white horse. And when we have slain all the warriors,
the Princess herself will come to meet you and offer to be your wife,
professing a violent love for you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account