"Hast thou, then, the sword of Sesostris?"
"Behold it," said Dobrünä, as he drew the sword from its scabbard, "and if thou wilt permit me, mighty prince, to relate to thee my history, thou wilt know that it is I who am appointed by destiny to rid the earth of the monster Tugarin."
The monarch joyfully granted him permission, and Dobrünä thus commenced:—
"It is true that I had both a father and a mother, but not the less did I behold the light of the world without going through the process of being born. Shortly before my mother would have brought me forth, she was slain by robbers, during a journey she was making with my father, to visit a relation. My father being also killed, I must doubtless have perished, if the beneficent enchantress Dobrada, who was just then passing by, had not rescued me, and taken me under her protection. She carried me to the beautiful island, in the ocean, where she usually dwells, and brought me up with the greatest care. She nourished me with the milk of a lioness, bathed me several times a day in the waves of the ocean, and inured me by day and night to labour and privation. This mode of education rendered my body so strong, that in my tenth year, I was already able to tear up the strongest trees by the root. Six ancient men instructed me in all the six-and-twenty known languages, and in arms, wherein I made such progress, that in my fifteenth year I was able to parry at once all the six swords of my teachers. Dobrada recompensed me for my diligence with the shining armour I now wear, which possesses the virtue of protecting my body from every danger.
"Shortly after that time, the enchantress whom I loved and honoured as a mother, thus addressed me:—'Dobrünä Mikilitsch, thy education is completed, and it is time that in foreign lands thou shouldst by knightly deeds acquire renown and honour. Go forth: thou art destined for great things. It is not permitted to me to reveal all the future to thee; but thus much thou mayst know: thou wilt obtain possession of the wondrous sword of the wise Sesostris of Egypt. As soon as thou approachest it, the sword thou now wearest will fall of itself to the earth, and that of Sesostris will become agitated. Take possession of it in peace, for thou wilt require it, for a great service thou must render to him in whose armoury thou wilt find it; for with it thou wilt destroy a mighty sorcerer and giant, who has worked him much woe. Whatever else thou mayst require during thy travels,' continued she, 'this ring will supply. Thou hast but to turn it three times on thy finger, in order to see every reasonable wish fulfilled.'
"She then bade me enter a boat into which she followed me. The boat shot through the waves like an arrow, and I presently sank into a profound sleep. How long our journey was I know not; for when I awoke I found myself alone on a vast plain, not far from a large city. But Dobrada could not have long quitted me, for the heavenly perfumes which ordinarily surrounded her, yet floated round me, and far in the eastern horizon I saw the rose-coloured cloud which always shrouded her. My soul was now filled with sadness at the thought that I was now separated from the wise and kind Dobrada, whom I loved as my mother.
"At length I regained my composure. I wished that I had a horse and squire that I might ride into the city that lay near me, and as at the same time I accidentally turned on my finger three times the ring, whose virtue I scarcely recollected, I saw at once before me a squire with two horses, of which I selected the finest and the most richly adorned for myself, and left the other for my squire; and thus I rode into the city.
"At the gate I was informed that the city was called Boogord, and was the capital of the Bulgarian empire. Trewul reigned in Boogord, and the giant Tugarin was at his court. The king had been obliged to promise him the hand of his sister, in order to avert the total ruin of his country, which the giant had devastated until Trewul had acceded to his desire. When I appeared in the king's presence, I made a very favourable impression on him, and he not only received me into his service, but made me keeper of the armoury, the first dignity at the Bulgarian court.
"From the first moment that Tugarin beheld me, he manifested the bitterest hate towards me; and when I heard what evil he had brought on Trewul and his land, I doubted not that he was the sorcerer and giant I was destined to overthrow. But the sword of Sesostris was still wanting to me. It was however not long before this invaluable weapon came into my possession.
"I entered the royal armoury in order to inspect the weapons entrusted to my care, and I had scarcely crossed the threshold when the sword I wore fell to the ground, and amongst the numerous others that hung there, I observed one moving to and fro. I could not doubt that this was the wonderful sword of the Egyptian king with which I was to slay the giant. I took possession of it with the greater confidence, from the knowledge that by its aid I should rid Trewul of so dangerous an enemy to himself and his family. I girded it upon me, and hung mine in its place.