im.

Then Prince Astrach went to seek a goodly steed in the royal stables,
but could find none there to his mind. So he bade farewell to his
father and mother, and started for his journey to Egypt alone on
foot; and he wandered long, here and there, far and near, until at
length he saw on the plain a palace of white marble, roofed with gold,
which emitted beams of light, shining like the sun. Prince Astrach
went up to the palace; and, on reaching it, he walked round the
building, looking in at every window, to see if any persons were
there; but he could discover no one. So he went into the courtyard,
and wandered up and down for a long time; but there, too, he could see
no living soul; then he entered the marble palace, and went from room
to room, but all was silent and deserted. At length he came to an
apartment, in which a table was spread for one person; and being very
hungry, Prince Astrach sat down, and ate and drank his fill; after
which he laid himself down on a bed and fell fast asleep.

As soon as he awoke, he wandered again through the palace until he
came to a room, from the window of which he saw the most beautiful
garden he had ever beheld, and it came into his mind to go for a walk
in it. Then he went out of the palace and strolled about for a long
time; and at length came to a stone wall, in which was an iron door,
with a massive lock. As the Prince touched the lock he heard behind
the door the neighing of a horse; and, wishing to remove the lock, he
took up a huge stone in his arms and fell to hammering the door. At
the first blow it burst open, and there behind it was a second iron
door, with a lock like the first. This, too, he broke open, and found
behind it ten other doors, through all of which he forced his way in
like manner; and behind the last he beheld a noble charger, with a
complete suit of armour. Then he went up and stroked the horse, which
stood still as if rooted to the spot.

Prince Astrach forthwith proceeded to saddle his horse with a
Tcherkess saddle, put a silken bridle into his mouth, and leading him
out, mounted, and rode into the open fields. But as soon as he applied
the spur, the horse grew restive, reared higher than the waving
forests, plunged lower than the flying clouds; mountains and rivers he
left behind; small streams he covered with his tail and broad rivers
he crossed at a bound, until at length Prince Astrach so tired out the
brave steed that he was covered with foam