Page:Poet Lore, volume 34, 1923.djvu/24

 Vratko.—This seems like a dream. And the head on these coins is like the picture of a king. He has a crown on his head.

Radúz.—It is a picture of my father. And now farewell! (He departs with .)

Vratko (Gazing after him in amazement).—The picture of my father,” he said. Is his father then a king and he a prince? What surprise and joy will there be at home! I do not even wish to carry the wood with me, in order that I may have nimbler legs and reach home sooner. But stay, here is King Stojmir himself and his bodyguard. From respect for him I dare not cross his path. Well, I will remain here by the spring.

Enter King Stojmir, Runa, and men of the king’s bodyguard, among them Přibina.

Runa.—This is a thing unheard of! To slay a stag so near the palace, and at that, one of the three which are white, consecrated to the moon, and on which our daughters are wont to ride! Consider this, king, what every man knows, that here there was an evil plot to insult us and to mock at us! In this I see rebellion!

Stojmír.—Show me the sword once more, Přibina.

Přibina.—Here it is. As thou seest, this is a foreign sword; that workmanship is not of this land.

Stojmír.—And thou sayest that it lay on the ground, cast aside?

Přibina.—Three steps from the pool of blood in which the stag perished.

Stojmír.—What a mystery! But the villain cannot be far far off, since, as thou sayest, the wound on the animal is fresh.

Runa.—Here stands a man: perhaps it is he?

Pribina (To ).—Who art thou? What seekest thou here?

Vratko.—I am on my way home, sire. I went to the forest for wood, and now am carrying it home to my wife.

Runa.—When didst thou go to the forest?

Vratko.—Just at dawn.

Runa.—And thou hast seen no one there, heard no one?

Vratko.—I saw only the does drinking at the brook, and heard the birds singing as they welcomed the day.

Runa.—Art thou a fool, or bold enough to make sport of us? Hast thou seen no man all the morning? That is what I ask thee.