He left the honey and went on. Then a lioness and her whelp met him. “At least I’ll eat this little lion; I feel such hunger that I am sick.”
“Touch him not, Ivan Tsarevich; in time I will serve thee.”
“Well, let it be as thou sayest.”
He went on hungry; he travelled and travelled. There is the house of Baba-Yaga. Around the house stand twelve stakes; on eleven are heads of men,—only one stake is unoccupied.
“Hail to thee, grandmother!”
“Hail to thee, Ivan Tsarevich! Hast come of thy own good will, or from need?”
“I have come to earn of thee an heroic steed.”
“Very well, Tsarevich; no need to serve a year with me, but three days in all. If thou wilt herd my mares, I’ll give thee an heroic steed; but if not, be not angry, thy head will be on the last stake.”
Ivan Tsarevich consented. Baba-Yaga gave him food with drink, and ordered him to begin the work. As soon as he had driven the mares a-field, they raised their tails and all ran apart through the meadows. The Tsarevich could not cast his eyes round before they had vanished. Then he began to weep and grow sad; he sat on a stone and fell asleep. The sun was going down when the bird from beyond the sea flew up and roused him.
“Rise, Ivan Tsarevich; the mares are now home.”