ip three times the whole building changed
into an apple, which she put in her pocket. I passed my arm around
her, and we set out. But oh! dear, when the dragons discovered it! How
they chased us, roaring so that our blood curdled in our veins. I
summoned all my courage, spurred my horse, and fled like the wind with
my companion. But the dragons came as fast as thought. When my comrade
saw this, and perceived that there was no possibility of escape, he
stopped, made a sign and turned them into blocks of stone. Then we
continued our journey till we reached the field from which we had
started and which was part of the fox's property. After we had rested
and I had thanked God that we had accomplished our task, I asked my
comrade what those stone pillars meant.

"He answered: 'If you know you will regret it, and if you don't know,
you will also regret it.'

"'Pray tell me.'

"'These are your brothers,' he answered. 'Instead of kindly granting
my request, as you did, they set their hounds on me, which condemned
me to wear the loathsome fox-skin still longer, so I turned them to
stone.'

"'For my sake,' I entreated, 'for the sake of our friendship, make
them men again as they were before.'

"'I prize your friendship greatly,' he replied, 'so let it be as you
wish--but you'll repent it.'

"In an instant he made a sign with his hand, the stones suddenly
shook, and my brothers remained motionless with amazement, when they
saw us before them. We took leave of my comrade and set out on our way
home. But see what a fine trick my brothers played me.

"'Brother,' they said, after we had ridden about a mile, 'we are tired
by the long distance, and it is very warm. Let us go to a pond we know
here and each drink a little to cool ourselves.' I agreed, and we went
there. The oldest drank, so did the second one, but when I was going
to drink too, lying face downward at the edge of the pond, so that I
could reach the water with my lips, as they had done, I suddenly felt
a terrible burning sensation in both feet, and when I turned to see
the cause, could not get up; my brothers had cut off both my feet, and
then hurried off, without listening to my complaints and entreaties.

"I spent three days and nights beside the pond. When my good horse saw
a dragon coming, it lifted me by my clothes with its teeth, ran as far
as it could and kicked so violently that no wild beast could approach
us.

"At last, on the fourth day, I met a blin