they fell a-talking, and his
father asked him how he had fared at Oh's. The son told him. Then the
father told the son what he had suffered, and it was the son's turn to
listen. Furthermore the father said, "What shall we do now, my son? I
am poor and thou art poor: hast thou served these three years and
earned nothing?"--"Grieve not, dear dad, all will come right in the
end. Look! there are some young nobles hunting after a fox. I will
turn myself into a greyhound and catch the fox, then the young
noblemen will want to buy me of thee, and thou must sell me to them
for three hundred roubles--only, mind thou sell me without a chain;
then we shall have lots of money at home, and will live happily
together!"

They went on and on, and there, on the borders of a forest, some
hounds were chasing a fox. They chased it and chased it, but the fox
kept on escaping, and the hounds could not run it down. Then the son
changed himself into a greyhound, and ran down the fox and killed it.
The noblemen thereupon came galloping out of the forest. "Is that thy
greyhound?"--"It is."--"'Tis a good dog; wilt sell it to us?"--"Bid
for it!"--"What dost thou require?"--"Three hundred roubles without a
chain."--"What do we want with _thy_ chain, we would give him a chain
of gold. Say a hundred roubles!"--"Nay!"--"Then take thy money and
give us the dog." They counted down the money and took the dog and
set off hunting. They sent the dog after another fox. Away he went
after it and chased it right into the forest, but then he turned into
a youth again and rejoined his father.

They went on and on, and his father said to him, "What use is this
money to us after all? It is barely enough to begin housekeeping with
and repair our hut."--"Grieve not, dear dad, we shall get more still.
Over yonder are some young noblemen hunting quails with falcons. I
will change myself into a falcon, and thou must sell me to them; only
sell me for three hundred roubles, and without a hood."

They went into the plain, and there were some young noblemen casting
their falcon at a quail. The falcon pursued but always fell short of
the quail, and the quail always eluded the falcon. The son then
changed himself into a falcon and immediately struck down its prey.
The young noblemen saw it and were astonished. "Is that thy
falcon?"--"'Tis mine."--"Sell it to us, then!"--"Bid for it!"--"What
dost thou want for it?"--"If ye give three hundred roubles, ye may
take it, but