ur
queen."

He followed her advice, and within a short time they were married; his
brothers, whom he had pardoned, and his parents having been invited to
the wedding. On their way back from the church the magic sword
suddenly clinked, and, flashing in the air, divided itself into a
thousand swords that placed themselves on guard as sentinels all round
the palace. The guzla, too, began to play so sweetly and gaily that
every living thing began to dance for joy.

The festival was magnificent. I myself was there, and drank freely of
wine and mead; and although not a drop went into my mouth, my chin was
quite wet.

OHNIVAK

[Illustration: OHNIVAK]

A certain king had a beautiful garden which contained a number of very
rare trees, but the most rare of all was an apple tree. It stood in
the middle of the garden, and produced one golden apple every day. In
the morning the blossom unfolded, during the day you might watch the
fruit grow, and before nightfall the apple was fully ripe. The next
day the same thing occurred--indeed, it happened regularly every
twenty-four hours. Nevertheless, no ripe fruit ever remained on the
tree on the following day; the apple disappeared, no one knew how or
when, and this deeply grieved the king.

At last he could bear it no longer, and calling his eldest son to him,
said: "My child, I wish you to keep watch in the garden to-night, and
see if you can find out what becomes of my golden apples. I will
reward you with the choice of all my treasures; if you should be lucky
enough to get hold of the thief, and bring him to me, I would gladly
give you half my kingdom."

The young prince girded his trusty sword to his side, and with his
crossbow on his shoulder and a good stock of well-tempered arrows,
went into the garden to mount guard. And as he sat under the apple
tree a great drowsiness came over him which he could not resist; his
arms dropped, his eyes closed, and stretching himself on the grass he
slept as soundly as if he had been in his own bed at home, nor did he
awake until day dawn, and then he saw that the apple had disappeared.

When questioned by his father, he said that no thieves had come, but
that the apple had vanished all the same. The king shook his head, for
he did not believe a word of it. Then, turning to his second son, he
bade him keep watch, and promised him a handsome reward if he should
catch the thief.

So the second son armed himself with everyt