“By all means,” replied she, “let us go. I myself have long been wishing to see your kingdom.”
Well they got ready and went off; Katoma was allotted the post of coachman. They drove and drove, and as they drove along Prince Ivan went to sleep. Suddenly the Princess Anna the Fair awoke him, uttering loud complaints—
“Listen, Prince, you’re always sleeping, you hear nothing! But your tutor doesn’t obey me a bit, drives the horses on purpose over hill and dale, just as if he wanted to put an end to us both. I tried speaking him fair, but he jeered at me. I won’t go on living any longer if you don’t punish him!”
Prince Ivan, ’twixt sleeping and waking, waxed very wroth with his tutor, and handed him over entirely to the Princess, saying—
“Deal with him as you please!”
The Princess ordered his feet to be cut off. Katoma submitted patiently to the outrage.
“Very good,” he thinks; “I shall suffer, it’s true; but the Prince also will know what to lead a wretched life is like!”
When both of Katoma’s feet had been cut off, the Princess glanced around, and saw that a tall tree-stump stood on one side; so she called her servants and ordered them to set him on that stump. But as for Prince Ivan, she tied him to the carriage by a cord, turned the horses round, and drove back to her own kingdom. Katoma was left sitting on the stump, weeping bitter tears.
“Farewell, Prince Ivan!” he cries; “you won’t forget me!”
Meanwhile Prince Ivan was running and bounding behind the carriage. He knew well enough by this time what a blunder he had made, but there was no turning back for him. When the Princess Anna the Fair arrived in her kingdom, she set Prince Ivan to take care of the cows. Every day he went afield with the herd at early morn, and in the evening he drove them back to the royal yard. At that hour the Princess was always sitting on the balcony, and looking out to see that the number of the cows were all right.[321]