w. He jumped onto the horse and touched
his iron sides with a silk whip. The horse became impatient, lifted
himself above the ground, higher and higher above the dark woods below
the traveling clouds. He swam over the large rivers, jumped over
the small ones, as well as over hills and mountains. Ivanoushka the
Simpleton arrived at the hall of the Tsarevna Baktriana, flew up like
a hawk, passed through thirty circles, could not reach the last two,
and went away like a whirlwind.

The people were shouting: "Take hold of him! take hold of him!" The
Tsar jumped to his feet, the Tsaritza screamed. Every one was roaring
in amazement.

The brothers of Ivanoushka came home and there was but one subject of
conversation--what a splendid fellow they had seen! What a wonderful
start to pass through the thirty circles!

"Brothers, that fellow was I," said Ivanoushka the Simpleton, who had
long since arrived.

"Keep still and do not fool us," answered the brothers.

The next day the two brothers were going again to the tsarski show and
Ivanoushka the Simpleton said again: "Take me along with you."

"For thee, fool, this is thy place. Be quiet at home and scare
sparrows from the pea field instead of the scarecrow."

"All right," answered the Simpleton, and he went to the field and
began to scare the sparrows. But as soon as the brothers left home,
Ivanoushka started to the wide field and shouted out loud with a
mighty voice:

"Arise, bay horse--thou wind-swift steed,
Appear before me in my need;
Stand up as in the storm the weed!"

--and here came the horse, the earth trembling under his hoofs, the
sparks flying around, his eyes like flames, and out of his nostrils
smoke curling up.

"For what dost thou wish me?"

Ivanoushka the Simpleton crawled into the left ear of the horse, and
when he appeared out of the right ear, oh, my! what a fellow he was!
Even in fairy tales there are never such handsome fellows, to say
nothing of everyday life.

Ivanoushka lifted himself on the iron back of his horse and touched
him with a strong whip. The noble horse grew angry, made a jump, and
went higher than the dark woods, a little below the traveling clouds.
One jump, one mile is behind; a second jump, a river is behind; and a
third jump and they were at the hall. Then the horse, with Ivanoushka
on his back, flew like an eagle, high up into the air, passed the
thirty-first circle, failed to reach the last one, and swept away l