Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/59

Rh The girl was so alarmed that she ran trembling to her father, exclaiming,—

"Forgive me, father, but I loosened the little pony, as I felt so sorry for him, and he has run away."

Hardly had the sorcerer heard these words when he changed himself into a grey wolf, and gave chase. The pony, on hearing some one chasing him, turned himself into a white dove. The sorcerer then changed himself into a kite, and flew after the dove. They were very close to each other now; but the dove suddenly perceiving a river below him, flew down, changing himself into a stickleback, and stood on the defensive. The sorcerer, not wishing to be beaten, changed himself into a pike, and dashed into the water. The stickleback shot rapidly through a hole in the shell of a crawfish, and waited.

"Turn your head round, friend stickleback," said the pike, "and I will eat you."

"You had better not, friend pike, it would not agree with you; you would very soon suffocate. And besides, pikes never eat sticklebacks; it is not at all fashionable."

And then they stood looking at each other for nearly three hours, till at last the pike fell fast asleep. Meanwhile the stickleback slipped out of the shell and swam through the water. He swam and swam till he came to a raft. He climbed on to it, and floated on until he came near to the shore, where, to his surprise, he saw a most beautiful princess sitting watching the tide. The stickleback, changed himself at once into a golden ring, and rolled before the princess's feet. She took it up, put it on her