“What ails you, pretty maiden? Why do you weep?” asked Relya.
“I weep, O hero, because I cannot get the Golden Girdle from the child on the Lake,” answered the Fairy.
When Relya heard that he was overjoyed.
“Tell me, maiden, how can I get to that Lake?” asked Relya.
“And who may you be, unknown hero?” returned the Fairy.
“I am Prince Relya, and I seek a Golden Girdle and a Cross on a red ribbon,” replied Relya.
When the Fairy heard that, she thought within her evil heart: “How lucky for me! Let Relya get the Girdle away from the Lake and on to the Mountain, and I will soon destroy Relya and keep the Girdle for myself.”
So the cunning Fairy spoke these honeyed words to Relya:
“Let us go, noble Prince! I will guide you across the Mountain. No harm will come to you, and I will show you where the children are. Why should you not have what is yours by inheritance?”
Thus sweetly did the Fairy speak, but in her heart she thought otherwise. Relya, however, was mightily pleased, and at once agreed to go with the Fairy.