one hundred
poods[30] weight. If thou canst bend this bow in the presence of these
my guests, thou shalt have my daughter!"

[30] A pood = forty pounds.

When dinner was over they all lay down to rest, but the prince
hastened off as quickly as he could to Ivan Golik, and said, "Now
indeed it is all over with us, for he has given me such and such a
task."

"Simpleton!" cried Ivan Golik, "when they bring forth this bow, look
at it, and say to the serpent, 'I should be ashamed to bend a bow that
the least of my servants can bend!' Then call me, and I'll bend the
bow so that none other will be able to bend it again."

With that the prince went straight off to the serpent again, and the
serpent commanded and they brought the bow, together with an arrow
weighing fifty poods. When the prince saw it, he was like to have died
of fright; but they put the bow down in the middle of the courtyard,
and all the guests came out to look at it. The prince walked all round
the bow and looked at it. "Why," said he, "I would not deign to touch
a bow like that. I'll call one of my servants, for any one of them can
bend such a bow as that!"

Then the serpent looked at the prince's servants one after the other,
and said, "Well, let them try!"

"Come forward thou, Ivan Golik!" cried the prince.

And the prince said to him, "Take me up that bow and bend it!"

Ivan Golik took up the bow, placed the arrow across it, and drew the
bow so that the arrow split into twelve pieces and the bow burst.
Then the prince said, "Did I not tell you? and was I to put myself to
shame by touching a bow that one of my servants can draw?"

[Illustration: IVAN GOLIK DREW THE BOW]

After that Ivan Golik returned to his fellow-servants, and put the
pieces of the broken bow behind his shin-bone; but the prince returned
with the serpents into the guest-chamber, and they all rejoiced
because he had done his appointed task. But the serpent whispered
something in the ear of his youngest daughter, and she went out, and
he after her. They remained outside a long time, and then the serpent
came in again, and said to the prince, "There is no time for anything
more to-day, but we'll begin again early to-morrow morning. I have a
horse behind twelve doors; if thou canst mount it, thou shalt have my
daughter."

Then they made merry again till evening and lay down to sleep, but the
prince went and told Golik. Golik listened to the prince, and said,
"Now thou knowest