e. Then
she said to her husband:

"Now, old man, I'm going to take a nap but when the water boils wake
me up."

As soon as Yezibaba was asleep Ludmila gave the old man strong wine
until he, too, fell asleep. Then she called Raduz and told him what
Yezibaba was planning to do.

"You must escape while you can," she said, "for if you are here
tomorrow you will surely be thrown into the boiling cauldron."

But Raduz had fallen too deeply in love with Ludmila to leave her and
now he declared that he would never go unless she went with him.

"Very well," Ludmila said, "I will go with you if you swear you will
never forget me."

"Forget you? How could I forget you," Raduz said, "when I wouldn't
give you up for the whole world!"

So Raduz took a solemn oath and they made ready to flee. Ludmila threw
down her kerchief in one corner of the house and Raduz' cap in
another. Then she took Yezibaba's wand and off they started.

The next morning when the old man awoke, he called out: "Hi, there,
boy! Are you still asleep?"

"No, I'm not asleep," answered Raduz' cap. "I'm just stretching."

Presently the old man called out again: "Here, boy, hand me my
clothes."

"In a minute," the cap answered. "Just wait till I put on my
slippers."

Then old Yezibaba awoke. "Ludmila!" she cried. "Get up, you lazy girl,
and hand me my skirt and bodice."

"In a minute! In a minute!" the kerchief answered.

"What's the matter?" Yezibaba scolded. "Why are you so long dressing?"

"Just one more minute!" the kerchief said.

But Yezibaba, who was an impatient old witch, sat up in bed and then
she could see that Ludmila's bed was empty. That threw her into a
fine rage and she called out to her husband:

"Now, old man, what have you got to say? As sure as I'm alive that
good-for-nothing boy is gone and that precious daughter of yours has
gone with him!"

"No, no," the old man said. "I don't think so."

Then they both got up and sure enough neither Raduz nor Ludmila was to
be found.

"What do you think now, you old booby!" Yezibaba shouted. "A mighty
good and loyal and obedient girl that daughter of yours is! But why do
you stand there all day? Mount the black steed and fly after them and
when you overtake them bring them back to me and I'll punish them
properly!"

In the meantime Raduz and Ludmila were fleeing as fast as they could.

Suddenly Ludmila said: "Oh, how my left cheek burns! I wonder what it
means? Look back, dear Rad