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264 to the Prince's courtyard, entered the white stone palace, prayed to God and did homage to the Prince.

The Prince of Kíev asked him, "Say, doughty youth, how do they call thee? Of what city art thou?"

And Ilyá Múromets returned answer: "My lord, they call me Ílyushka, and by my father's name Ivánov; I live in the city of Múrom in the village of Karachárovo."

Then the Prince asked him, "By what road didst thou come?"

"From Múrom by the city of Chernígov, and under the walls of Chernígov I routed a Saracen host too many to count, and I relieved the city of Chernígov. And from there I went straight and I took the mighty Nightingale Robber alive and dragged him along at my steel stirrup."

Then the Prince was angry and said, "Why art thou telling such tales?"

When the knights Alyósha Popóvich and Dobrýnya Nikítich heard this, they dashed out to look, and assured the Prince that this was really so.

Then the Prince bade a goblet of green wine be given to the doughty youth. The Prince, however, wished to hear the whistle of the Robber-Nightingale. Ilyá Múromets put the Prince and Princess into a sable shúba, seized them under the arm, called in the Nightingale Robber and bade him whistle like a nightingale with only half his whistle; but the Nightingale Robber whistled with all his robber's whistle, and he deafened all of the knights, so that they fell to the ground, and as a punishment for this was slain by Ilyá Múromets.

Ilyá Múromets swore blood brotherhood with Dobrýnya Nikítich, then they saddled their good horses and rode forth on the open fields; and they journeyed on for about three months and found no opponent worthy of their steel: they had only gone in the open field.