nning.

They were so much alike that no one could possibly distinguish one
from the other, and they were all so marvellously lovely that when the
young prince looked upon them he dared hardly breathe. Their hair was
carefully covered by a veil through which one could not distinguish
the colour of it, but their dresses were different. The first wore a
gown and veil embroidered with gold, and used a golden distaff; the
second had on a gown embroidered with silver and held a distaff of the
same metal; the third wore a gown and veil of dazzling whiteness, and
her distaff was made of wood.

The mother bade the prince choose, whereupon he pointed to the maiden
clothed in white, saying, "Give me this one to wife."

"Ah," said the queen, "some one has been letting you into the secret:
but wait a little, we shall meet again to-morrow."

All that night the prince lay awake, wondering how he should manage
not to make a mistake on the morrow. At dawn he was already at the
palace gates, which he had hardly entered when the princess clothed in
white chanced to pass: it was Zlato-Vlaska, and she had come to meet
him.

"If it is your wish to choose me again to-day," she said, "observe
carefully, and take the maiden around whose head buzzes a small fly."

In the afternoon the queen took the prince into a room where her three
daughters sat, and said: "If among these princesses you recognise the
one you chose yesterday she shall be yours; if not, you must die."

The young girls stood side by side, dressed alike in costly robes, and
all had golden hair. The prince was puzzled, and their beauty and
splendour dazzled him. For some time he could hardly see distinctly;
then, all of a sudden, a small fly buzzed over the head of one of the
princesses.

"This is the maiden who belongs to me," cried he, "and whom I chose
yesterday."

The queen, astonished that he should have guessed correctly, said,
"Quite right, but I cannot let you have her until you have submitted
to another trial, which shall be explained to you to-morrow."

On the morrow she pointed out to him a large fish-pond which lay in
the forest, and giving him a small golden sieve, said: "If with this
sieve you can, before sunset, empty that fish-pond yonder, I will give
you my daughter with the golden hair, but if you fail you will lose
your life."

The prince took the sieve, and, going down to the pond, plunged it in
to try his luck; but no sooner had he lifted it up th