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“ He then went away, lest the dragon should come and find him with the queen.
By and by the dragon came home, and the queen began to pet him and speak lovingly to him about many things, till at last she said: “Ah! what a fine horse you have! Where did you get such a splendid horse ?” And he answered: “Eh! where I got it every one cannot get one! In such and such a mountain lives an old woman who has twelve horses in her stable, and no one can say which is the finest, they are all so beautiful. ”

“ Then the king’s son was so angry that he almost killed himself in his rage. Next morning, he went down again to the shore to wait for the peahens, and rode about a long time till the servant again found an opportunity of blowing the bellows behind his neck, so that he again fell asleep as though dead. Hardly had he fallen asleep before the nine peahens came flying, and eight of them alighted by the water, but the ninth settled down by the side of his horse and caressed him, and cried out to awaken him: “Arise, my darling! Arise, my heart! Arise, my soul!” ”

“ But in one corner of the stable stands a horse which looks as if he were leprous, but, in truth, he is the very best horse in the whole world. He is the brother of my horse, and whoever gets him may ride to the sky. But whoever wishes to get a horse from that old woman must serve her three days and three nights. She has a mare with a foal, and whoever during three nights guards and keeps for her this mare and this foal has a right to claim the best horse from the old woman’s stable. But whoever engages to keep watch over the mare and does not must lose his head! ”