gnawed their way through all the doors, and are now resting!" But now
the water was boiling, and his sister ran up and said to him, "Come,
boil thyself, be quick; how much longer art thou going to keep us
waiting?" Then he, poor thing, began ladling the boiling water over
himself, while she got the table ready and spread the cloth, that the
serpent might eat her brother on that very table.

But he, poor thing, kept ladling himself, and cried, "Oh, my
dear brother-in-law, pray let me climb up to the top of that
whitethorn-tree; let me have a look out from the top of it, for
thence one can see afar!"--"Don't let him, dear!" said the sister
to the serpent; "he will stay there too long and lose our precious
time."--But the serpent replied, "It doesn't matter, it doesn't
matter; let him climb up if he likes." So the little Tsar went up
to the tree, and began to climb it; he did not miss a single
branch, and stopped a little at each one to gain time, and so he
climbed up to the very top, and then he took out his flute and
began to play upon it. But the starling flew up to him and said,
"Not so fast, little Tsar Novishny, for lo! thy dogs are running to
thee with all their might." But his sister ran out and said,
"What art thou playing up there for? Thou dost forget perhaps that
we are waiting for thee down here!" Then he began to descend the
tree, but he stopped at every branch on his way down, while his
sister kept on calling to him to come down quicker. At last he came
to the last branch, and as he stood upon it and leaped down to
the ground, he thought to himself, "Now I perish!" At that same
instant his dogs and his beasts, growling loudly, came running up,
and stood in a circle around him. Then he crossed himself and said,
"Glory to Thee, O Lord! I have still, perchance, a little time
to live in Thy fair world!" Then he called aloud to the serpent
and said, "And now, dear brother-in-law, come out, for I am ready
for thee!" Out came the serpent to eat him, but he said to his dogs
and his beasts, "Vovchok! Medvedik! Protius! Nedviga! Seize him!"
Then the dogs and the beasts rushed upon him and tore him to bits.

Then the little Tsar collected the pieces and burnt them to ashes, and
the little fox rolled his brush in the ashes till it was covered with
them, and then went out into the open field and scattered them to the
four winds. But while they were tearing the serpent to pieces the
wicked sister knocked out his tooth