“Good!” said the maiden; “take this bouquet with you. When you enter the King’s palace you will see there, in a corner, a woman wrapped in the hide of a camel, and buried in the dust up to her waist. All who enter the door spit in her face; for my sake, do throw this bunch of roses to her as you pass by her.”
“All right,” said the lad; and on the following day, as he was entering the palace, he threw the bunch of roses to the despised woman. He then entered the King’s apartment, where both the King and the courtiers were very much pleased with him. His manly bearing and intelligent conversation were the subject of general admiration. But the King’s two daughters-in-law were very much displeased with the little hunter, who threw a bunch of roses to their disgraced sister instead of spitting at her. They thought there was something at the bottom of the lad’s conduct, and said to one another:
“Let us find out some means of getting rid of this urchin, lest our secret should leak out.”
As they had great influence with the King and the court, they went to the King and said:
“Long live the King! You see that this lad is an expert hunter; he has brought you a lion’s hide; but it shall be useless as long as there is only one. Send him to bring a dozen more lions’ skins with which to adorn the new palace.”
The King liked this suggestion and sent the lad to bring him a dozen lions’ skins. The lad came home and told his sister, who said to him:
“Brother, when our godmother died she told me that we had an aunt living somewhere among the rocks of yonder Black Mountains. In case some difficult task was imposed upon us by the court we might go to our aunt, who would always be glad to help us. So you had better go to her; she will show you how to hunt twelve lions.”
The lad started towards the Black Mountains. There, in a deep cavern, he saw an old fairy woman sitting. He ran to her and at once kissed her hand.
“Halloo!” exclaimed the old dame, “is it you, silver-haired twin?”
“Aye, auntie, it is I,” answered the lad.