ince
told it what he intended to do, and the horse replied:

"To obtain your wish, you must ask your father for the sword, lance,
bow, quiver of arrows, and garments he wore when a youth; but you must
take care of me with your own hands for six weeks and give me oats
boiled in milk."

When the prince begged the emperor for the articles the horse had
advised, the monarch called the major-domo of the palace and ordered
him to open all the chests of clothing, that his son might choose what
he pleased. The young hero, after rummaging them three whole days, at
last found in the very bottom of an old trunk the weapons and garments
his father had worn in his youth, but the arms were covered with rust.
He set to work to clean them with his own hands and in six weeks,
during the time he was taking care of the horse, he succeeded in
making the weapons as bright and shining as a mirror. When the horse
heard from the handsome prince that the clothes and arms were cleaned
and ready, it shook itself once. All the sores instantly fell off and
there it stood, a strong, well-formed animal, with four wings. When
the hero saw this, he said:

"We'll go in three days!"

"May you have a long life, master. From to-day I shall be at your
service," the horse answered.

On the morning of the third day there was great mourning throughout
the whole court and empire. The handsome prince, clad like a hero,
holding his sword in his hand and riding the horse he had chosen, took
leave of the emperor, the empress, the great nobles and lesser
grandees, the army, and all the attendants, who, with tears in their
eyes, implored him to give up the journey and not risk his life; but
setting spurs to his steed, he dashed through the gate like the wind,
followed by the carts loaded with provisions and money, and the two
hundred horsemen the emperor had commanded to accompany him.

After reaching the boundaries of his father's country and arriving at
the wilderness, the prince distributed all his property among the
escort, bade them farewell, and sent them back, keeping for himself
only as much food as the horse could carry. Then he turned toward the
east and rode for three days and three nights, till he came to a wide
plain where lay a great many human bones.

When he stopped here to rest, the horse said: "You must know, master,
that we are on the land of a Woodpecker Fairy who is so wicked that
nobody can enter her domain without being murdered. She w