"Well, you have got the best first," said he; "but you must know the
golden horse belongs to the princess of the golden castle."

"But how shall I get it?" asked the young man.

"I am going to tell you," answered the fox. "First, go to the king who
sent you to the golden castle, and take to him the beautiful princess.
There will then be very great rejoicing; he will willingly give you the
golden horse, and they will lead him out to you; then mount him without
delay, and stretch out your hand to each of them to take leave, and last
of all to the princess, and when you have her by the hand swing her up
on the horse behind you, and off you go! nobody will be able to overtake
you, for that horse goes swifter than the wind."

And so it was all happily done, and the king's son carried off the
beautiful princess on the golden horse. The fox did not stay behind, and
he said to the young man,

"Now, I will help you to get the golden bird. When you draw near the
castle where the bird is, let the lady alight, and I will take her under
my care; then you must ride the golden horse into the castle-yard, and
there will be great rejoicing to see it, and they will bring out to you
the golden bird; as soon as you have the cage in your hand, you must
start off back to us, and then you shall carry the lady away."

The plan was successfully carried out; and when the young man returned
with the treasure, the fox said,

"Now, what will you give me for my reward?"

"What would you like?" asked the young man.

"When we are passing through the wood, I desire that you should slay me,
and cut my head and feet off."

"That were a strange sign of gratitude," said the king's son, "and I
could not possibly do such a thing."

Then said the fox,

"If you will not do it, I must leave you; but before I go let me give
you some good advice. Beware of two things: buy no gallows-meat, and sit
at no brook-side." With that the fox ran off into the wood.

The young man thought to himself, "That is a wonderful animal, with most
singular ideas. How should any one buy gallows-meat? and I am sure I
have no particular fancy for sitting by a brook-side."

So he rode on with the beautiful princess, and their way led them
through the village where his two brothers had stayed. There they heard
great outcry and noise, and when he asked what it was all about, they
told him that two people were going to be hanged. And when he drew near
he saw that it was