"Kra! kra! kra—h!
Ich weiss wie es geschah!"
"The son of an Earl had fallen in love with the daughter of the Ritter who dwelt ages ago in Schloss Treseburg, and came every day and stood on the summit of the Hagedorn, and gazed across to the Treseburg, to see if he could catch a glimpse of the maiden, or a greeting from her.
"It happened once that he met there a noble white stag, and being a passionate lover of the chase, he threw his spear, killing the animal on the spot.
"Just as he was about to detach the splendid antlers, to hang up in his castle—for a pair of antlers was his coat of arms—the Waldfrau, the powerful queen of the forest and all game, suddenly broke forth from the underbrush with indignation and wrath, for the dead stag had been her favourite, and cursed the youth in words of fury:
"'Thou bloodthirsty man, thou shalt henceforth no more hunt, but be hunted; thou shalt be thyself a stag in the place of the one thou hast killed, and shalt wander in these preserves centuries long.'
"And at these words the Earl's son was transformed into that of the stag, and that is the White Stag of the Hagedorn."
The raven nodded three times with his head in confirmation of his tale, and remained silent.
And Fischersche asked further: "'Say on, raven, who knowest all things, if and how the enchantment may be broken."
Immediately the other raven rose, flapped his wings and cried:
"Kra! Kra! Kra—h!
Ja! Ja! Ja!"