He rode out into a great meadow, and came near the abode of the demis. When he looked upon the mead his heart was glad, and his eyes filled with tears, he bethought him of his home and its beautiful fields, he uttered a blessing to God the merciful. Then he urged his horse onward, at such speed that clouds of dust rose behind him. The youth said to himself: ‘Lo, I am now in the unknown land!’ Up he rode to the demis’ gate, leaped from his horse, and tied it there.
He walked away a little, and then cried: ‘Methinks I have not fastened my horse securely!’ Back he went, tore up an oak by the roots, planted it with its branches downwards in the earth, and firmly tied his horse to it. Then the horse said: ‘If thou hadst not done this I should have fled home, but now do as I tell thee, and all will be well. The demis are indoors; go to the meadow, there thou wilt find a kettle, overturn it. Then betake thyself to the damsel, and get her to plight her troth to thee.’
Geria went, kicked the kettle, turned it over three times, and left it upside down, then he went to the maiden, broke all the locks, and came to the room where she was. She was astonished, but the youth’s bravery pleased her, and, to make a long story short, she promised to marry him. The youth went out merrily to the place where he had left his horse. There he quietly spent the night, and next morning the horse said: ‘The demis have now gone out to the meadow; when they saw the kettle turned over they marvelled, for it usually takes all the twelve demis to turn over that kettle, and they said one to another: “Whatever we are commanded by him that turned over the kettle that must we do,”—now it is time for thee to go thither.’ Geria went to the meadow.
As soon as the demis saw him, they all arose hastily, went to meet him, bowed themselves, and said: ‘What dost thou ask of us?’ He answered: ‘You must give me your sister to wife.’ The demis said: ‘We give her to thee, but the Black King will not let thee take her.’ Geria answered: ‘I fear no man,’ so (not to lengthen unduly a long story) they made ready a banquet.
While the feast was still going on, in the morning, Geria looked out of the door, and saw a host of men in black apparel, who had been sent by the Black King. Geria mounted his horse, dashed into the midst and defeated them all; three only did he save alive, as messengers, and sent them to say to the Black King: ‘’Tis I that have done this, Geria, the poor man’s son.’
The King was very wroth, and sent almost all his army against him. When Geria saw them, he bethought himself a little, but the horse said to him: ‘Youth! this is nothing, look for still worse.’ Geria struck the horse with his whip, attacked the host, and slew all but one; him he sent to bear the news. Upon this, the king went out of himself with rage: he summoned his devoted and loyal slave to whom he was wont to apply in all his difficulties, by name Qvamuritz Khami;[5] to him he committed all that was left of the army, and sent him out.
Geria arose and saw a sight, such a sight as I wish thine enemy may see. It pleased him not to see Qvamuritz Khami; but what could be done? The horse said to him: ‘Youth! yonder is he of whom I spake.’ Geria crossed himself, gave thanks to God, bade his wife farewell, for he thought to die, and went out. First of all he slew the army, and then he began a single combat with Qvamuritz Khami.
Mounted they fought with maces, but the battle was not to the strong, for Qvamuritz Khami’s soul was safe in other hands—how could he be killed? Qvamuritz Khami cried: ‘O young man! thus shouldst thou shoot!’ and slew him. When Geria was dead, the victor slaughtered all the demis, took Geria’s wife, put her on her husband’s horse, and carried her off to his master.
But she said to the king: ‘I am the widow of such a man that I will not belong to a man like thee; either do battle with me, and let the conqueror have his will, or give me leave to wear mourning for three months.’ The king feared to fight with her, for she was of the demi race, so he gave her a respite of three months. When Geria was killed, his head rolled one way and his body another; his faithful dog Mathicochi went and put the two pieces together, and lay down to guard them.
While all these things had been happening, a year had passed, and when Geria’s parents saw that he did not return, they set out to seek him. When they came to a narrow road, they saw that several snakes had met and were fighting, and all fell dead; then two great snakes crawled out, threw themselves into the river, swam out again and began to crawl over the dead snakes in various directions. They were all restored to life. Geria’s parents wondered at the sight, and said one to the other: ‘Let us take a little of this water.’ They took a thimblefull of it.