Page:Slavonic Fairy Tales.djvu/259

242 queen, terrified, threw away the sequins, and at the same instant the king fell down senseless, began to cough violently, and at last brought up the heart of the little bird. In a moment a hand appeared, whiter than the snow on the mountains, and seized the heart; and a voice was heard, saying,—"It was mine; but this shall be forgiven unto you!" This was the voice of the soul of the king's brother, and the hand was his shadow.

Soon afterwards the king recovered from the swoon. When he heard what had happened, he repented of his sins until his life's end, and gave alms to the poor.