‘I will tell you that you are going in quest of the golden bird, three of whose feathers you knocked out with a musket-shot. You showed them to your father, who has consequently become blind.’
‘Yes, that is so.’
‘But listen: there will be various birds; there will be a cage of diamonds, a cage of gold, a cage of silver, and a cage of wood. In the first there will be a diamond bird, in the second a golden bird, in the third a silver bird, and in the fourth a miserable, common bird. Beware of taking one of the birds with a beautiful cage, or it will bring misfortune on you. Now, get on my back, and leave your horse to graze in this forest.’
He mounted the hare, and on arriving at the place where these birds were he dismounted. Then said the hare to him again, ‘For God’s sake, beware of touching a bird with a beautiful cage, but take the one in a common cage.’
Well, then, he goes in to steal, and he sees that there are three miserable cages. ‘Why,’ said he, ‘should I take one of these, when I can take a bird with a beautiful cage?’ He then espied a cage of diamonds with a diamond bird in it. [[186]]He approached it. He would have taken it, when suddenly these wretched birds uttered a terrible scream. The warders came running up, and secured the prince. Next day the king questioned him, ‘Why have you come here?’
‘I came, sire, to take the bird that robbed me of the golden apples.’
‘Listen, then. You shall have that bird provided you do this for me. There is a certain king who has a silver horse. Steal that horse from him and bring it to me, and I will give you the bird.’
‘Very well.’
The fool came to his hare, and began to lament. The hare said to him, ‘Didn’t I tell you not to touch the bird in the fine cage, but to take the bird in the common cage? Well, be silent; come with me without mounting me. And listen: there will be beautiful horses of gold and silver. Don’t touch them, but take that miserable horse beside the door.’
Well, he went. He sees such beautiful horses, one all gold, the other silver. He looks at them, and says to himself, ‘Why should I take that wretched horse, when I can take the golden one?’ He tries to mount the golden horse, when they all neigh terribly loud, and he was arrested.