the middle finger of your left hand,' the maiden answered,
laughing.

She took the knife and tried to strike the youth, and he even tried to
cut himself with it, but found it impossible. Then he asked the maiden
to show him how to split stones and rocks with the help of the ring. So
she led him into a courtyard where stood a great boulder-stone. 'Now,'
she said, 'put the ring upon the thumb of your left hand, and you will
see how strong that hand has become. The youth did so, and found to his
astonishment that with a single blow of his fist the stone flew into a
thousand pieces. Then the youth bethought him that he who does not use
his luck when he has it is a fool, and that this was a chance which once
lost might never return. So while they stood laughing at the shattered
stone he placed the ring, as if in play, upon the third finger of his
left hand.

'Now,' said the maiden, 'you are invisible to me until you take the ring
off again.'

But the youth had no mind to do that; on the contrary, he went farther
off, then put the ring on the little finger of his left hand, and soared
into the air like a bird.

When the maiden saw him flying away she thought at first that he was
still in play, and cried, 'Come back, friend, for now you see I have
told you the truth.' But the young man never came back.

Then the maiden saw she was deceived, and bitterly repented that she had
ever trusted him with the ring.

The young man never halted in his flight until he reached the dwelling
of the wise magician who had taught him the speech of birds. The
magician was delighted to find that his search had been successful,
and at once set to work to interpret the secret signs engraved upon the
ring, but it took him seven weeks to make them out clearly. Then he gave
the youth the following instructions how to overcome the Dragon of the
North: 'You must have an iron horse cast, which must have little wheels
under each foot. You must also be armed with a spear two fathoms long,
which you will be able to wield by means of the magic ring upon your
left thumb. The spear must be as thick in the middle as a large tree,
and both its ends must be sharp. In the middle of the spear you must
have two strong chains ten fathoms in length. As soon as the Dragon has
made himself fast to the spear, which you must thrust through his jaws,
you must spring quickly from the iron horse and fasten the ends of the
chains firmly to the ground with iron stakes,