Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/214

198 saw, to their surprise, Starveling sitting on a beautiful white horse, surrounded by forty equally beautiful ponies.

"Good morning, father!" cried Starveling, laughing. "I have brought a horse for each of my brothers. Look! are they not beauties?"

After each pony had been properly admired and fed, Starveling mounted his own horse again, exclaiming,—

"Come, brothers, mount your horses, and let us ride into the wide world in search of brides! It will be no easy task, certainly, for we want forty-one maidens, sisters, if possible!"

The brothers laughed; but anything for amusement! So, after receiving their parents' blessing, they set out on their journey, and a nice long journey it was, too!

They rode and rode, through various towns and kingdoms; but, no, forty-one brides was rather more than was generally asked for, especially as these forty-one youngsters insisted upon the brides all being sisters! for then there would not be any jealousy among the brothers. They rode on and on, until at last they came to the World's End; here they thought they would be sure to get what they wanted. So they went on merrily, until they beheld, on the top of a very steep hill, a white palace, round which was a very high wall, and in the middle a large iron gate, in front of which stood forty-one iron posts.

The forty-one brothers dismounted, and tying their horses to the posts, pushed open the iron gates, and