ve this
wood and come near a palace which does not belong to my domain, let
the lion go, in order that he may not fall into the hands of an enemy
and be killed.'

[Illustration: The Prickly Man with His Attendants]

With these words he loosened the lion from his beard and bade the
beast guard the youth carefully.

With this new protector Iwanich wandered on through the forest, and
though he came upon a great many more wolves, hyenas, leopards, and
other wild beasts, they always kept at a respectful distance when they
saw what sort of an escort the Prince had with him.

[Illustration: Militza & her Maidens in the Garden]

Iwanich hurried through the wood as quickly as his legs would carry
him, but, nevertheless, hour after hour, went by and not a trace of a
green field or a human habitation met his eyes. At length, towards
evening, the mass of trees grew more transparent, and through the
interlaced branches a wide plain was visible.

At the exit of the wood the lion stood still, and the Prince took
leave of him, having first thanked him warmly for his kind protection.
It had become quite dark, and Iwanich was forced to wait for daylight
before continuing his journey.

He made himself a bed of grass and leaves, lit a fire of dry branches,
and slept soundly till the next morning.

Then he got up and walked towards a beautiful white palace which he
saw gleaming in the distance. In about an hour he reached the
building, and opening the door he walked in.

After wandering through many marble halls, he came to a huge staircase
made of porphyry, leading down to a lovely garden.

The Prince burst into a shout of joy when he suddenly perceived
Militza in the centre of a group of girls who were weaving wreaths of
flowers with which to deck their mistress.

As soon as Militza saw the Prince she ran up to him and embraced him
tenderly; and after he had told her all his adventures, they went into
the palace, where a sumptuous meal awaited them. Then the Princess
called her court together, and introduced Iwanich to them as her
future husband.

Preparations were at once made for the wedding, which was held soon
after with great pomp and magnificence.

Three months of great happiness followed, when Militza received one
day an invitation to visit her mother's sister.

Although the Princess was very unhappy at leaving her husband, she did
not like to refuse the invitation, and, promising to return in seven
days at the l