A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth

Once upon a time there lived a tsar, who had three sons and one daughter. The latter was kept in a cage by her father, for he loved her as he loved his own eyes. When the girl grew up she begged her father’s permission to go out one evening with her brothers, and the tsar granted her wish. No sooner had she left the palace than a dragon flew down, seized the princess andand, despite her brothers, disappeared with her into the clouds before her brothers could stop him.clouds. The princes hastened to tell their father what had happened, and they implored him to let them go in search of their sister.

ThenThereupon their unhappy father gave each of them a horse and other necessary equipment for a long journey, and they started out upon their quest. After journeying a long way, they sighted in the distance a pavilion, which was neither in the sky nor on the earth, but was hanging midway between. When they came underneath it,this, it occurred to them that their sister might be hidden in it, and they began to consider how best they might reach it. Finally they decided that one of them must kill his horse, cut its hide into strips, andstrips, make a long leather strap. They would fastenthong, and, fastening one end to an arrow andarrow, shoot it with enough force to lodge it deep infrom the pavilion’s wooden frame. Thenbow so strongly that it should strike deeply into the framework of the pavilion, thus making a way up which they could climb up the strap.climb.

The two younger brothers proposed to the eldest that he should kill his horse, but he refused. Neither would the second brother consent to do so. Thenso; then the youngest brother, seeing that it could not be helped, killed his horse, made its hide into a long strap,lengthy thong, fixed one end to his arrow, and shot straight up to the pavilion, where the arrow stuck firmly.

Next they had to discuss who should climb up the strap. Againthong; again the two elder brothers refused, so it fell to the youngest to make the climb.perform this exploit. Being very agile, he soon reached the pavilion. Wanderingpavilion; wandering from one room to another, he finally came to a rooman apartment where, to his great joy, he saw his sister sitting with the sleeping dragon’s head on her knee. When the princess sawbeheld her brother, she was very afraidfeared exceedingly for his life, and implored him to escape before the dragon awoke.

The Prince slays the Dragon

The courageous youth, however, would not do asobey his sister asked. Hesister, but seized his mace and struck the dragon on the head. The monster pointed with one of his claws to the place where he had been struck and said to the maiden: “Something bit me here!” Again the prince raised his mace and delivered a blow upon the monster’s head; but the dragon apparently did not mind, for he pointed again indifferently to the place, saying: “Again something has bitten me!”

The young prince was about to strike aon the point of striking the third timetime, when his sister pointed out whereto a blow could kill the dragon. The prince aimed there, andspot where only the dragon died instantly.might receive a mortal wound, and directing his blow upon the place indicated, the dragon instantly succumbed. The princess immediately movedat once freed herself of the dragon’s head off her lap,head, ran swiftly to kiss her brother, and then was eager to show him the different rooms.

First, she took him into a room in which stood a black steed fastened to a stall and decked with a saddle and harness adorned with pure silver. Next she led him into a second room, where they found a white horse, also ready to be mounted, but its harness was of pure gold. Then she took him into a third room, where was a beautiful Arab steed whose saddle, stirrups and bridle were studded with precious stones.

The princess next conducted her brother to a chamber in which a maiden was sitting at a golden embroidery frametambourette engaged in embroidering with golden threads. From therethence she led him into a second roomapartment where a girl was spinning gold threads. At last they entered a third room in which a maiden sat threading pearls, and before her, upon a golden plate, was a golden hen with its chickens, sorting the pearls.

Having satisfied his curiosity, the prince returned to the room where he had left the dead dragondragon, and threw the bodycarcass down to earth. Atearth; and at the mere sight of the dragon’s body the two brothers were terrified out of their wits. Next the prince slowly let down his sister, and, after her, the three maidens, together with their work. AsWhile he did this,was thus engaged he shouted to his brothers and made gestures indicating which girl should marryto whom each brother.of the girls should belong. He reserved for himself the one who had been threading pearls, not forgetting the golden hen and the chickens.

The Brothers’ BetrayalPerfidy of the Brothers

His brothers, envying the heroism of the young prince and jealous of his successful exploits, were now guilty of a wicked trick. Theydastardly trick; they cut the strap sothong in order that he could notmight not be able to reach the earth, then hurried away withand taking their sister andwith all the treasure.booty they hurriedly decamped.

On the way home the princes met a shepherd watching his sheep, and they persuadedprevailed upon him to disguise himself and pretendand to beimpersonate their youngest brother. They orderedbrother, ordering their sister and the three maidens to keepkeep strictly their secret.

Some time elapsed, and one day the youngest prince heardhad tidings that his brothers and the disguised shepherd were about to marryon the point of marrying the three maidens. This information seems to have been singularly complete, for on the day of his eldest brother’s wedding, he mountedwedding, mounted on the black steed,steed, he flew down and landedalighted in front of the church. There he waitedawaited the moment for the procession to come out. Asout, and, as his brother was preparing to mount his horse, he swiftlyhe approached him,him swiftly, raised his club and struck him so hardhim a heavy blow so that he fell instantly. The young prince then remounted the black horse and was instantly transported to the mysterious pavilion.

OnOn the wedding-day of his second brother’s wedding day, he repeatedbrother the feat, this time on the white horse. No one guessedhorse, was repeated, none guessing who the strange attackeraggressor was.

Next came the turn of the shepherd. On the day of his wedding with the third maiden, the young prince, mounted on the Arab horseArab, landedalighted in the churchyard just at the moment when the wedding procession started to return. This time he struck the bridegroom on the head so heavily that he fell dead. The guests hurriedly dismountedalighted from their horses and surrounded the prince, who made no attempt to escape, but revealed himself as the third son of their tsar. He told them that the pretended prince, whom he had just killed,sent to the other world, was onlybut a common shepherd, and that his brothers, out of envy, had leftcaused him trappedto remain in the magic pavilion where he had discovered his sister and killed the dragon. All that he said was immediately confirmed by his sister and the three maidens. When the tsar heard this,this he was very angry with his two elder sons, and banished themdrove them for ever from his palace for ever.palace. But as for his valiant youngest son, he marriedunited him to the third maiden and left him the crown and all he possessed when he died.