Page:Russian Fairy Book (N. H. Dole).djvu/52

32 knives in the window of their sister's little room so that the Bright-Hawk's gaudy wings might be clipped off on them. What they plotted they performed, and the youngest sister had not a suspicion of it. As usual, she set her ruby-red flower in the window, lay down on the bed, and fell sound asleep.

In the night the Bright-Hawk came flying up; he flapped his wings and flapped his wings, but he could not get into the chamber; all he did was to cut his wings. "Good-bye, lovely girl," he cried; "if you want to find me, then seek for me beyond the thrice-nine lands in the thirtieth kingdom. But before you find me you will wear out three pairs of iron shoes, you will break three iron staves, you will eat three iron wafers. Farewell, dear good girl!"

All this time the girl was asleep, but she seemed to hear through her dream the harsh words, and she tried to wake up but she could not.

In the morning she awoke and looked all around her. It was already bright day, but no sign of the fine young man! But when she looked at the window, there, criss-cross, stuck sharp knives, and from them, on the ruby-red flower, blood was dropping.