The goblins looked round in the darkness for the serpent of which they had heard, but they could not find it.
At last, when they were sadly thinking of going back to the boat, Red-Cap cried out that he saw something yellow in the dark shadow of a rock.
They all ran after it, shouting loudly, and it led them some way down a rocky passage.
It went very quickly, and they had to run very fast to keep it in sight; but at last they caught it, and after a sharp struggle—in which poor little Red-Cap nearly lost his life—killed it.
The three little brothers stood looking at the dead serpent, and while they were looking it seemed to change! It moved! and grew thinner and darker, and the bright yellow colour turned to orange, and from orange colour to red, and then redder! and redder!! and redder!!! until they saw—that it was no longer the serpent, but the Red Feather for which they had come so far to look!