The steed replied:
“Prince Ivan has come and carried off Marya Morevna.”
“Is it possible to catch them?”
“It is possible to sow wheat, to wait till it grows up, to reap it and thresh it, to grind it to flour, to make five pies of it, to eat those pies, and then to start in pursuit—and even then to be in time.”
Koshchei galloped off and caught up Prince Ivan.
“Now,” says he, “this time I will forgive you, in return for your kindness in giving me water to drink. And a second time I will forgive you; but the third time beware! I will cut you to bits.”
Then he took Marya Morevna from him, and carried her off. But Prince Ivan sat down on a stone and burst into tears. He wept and wept—and then returned back again to Marya Morevna. Now Koshchei the Deathless happened not to be at home.
“Let us fly, Marya Morevna!”
“Ah, Prince Ivan! he will catch us.”
“Suppose he does catch us. At all events we shall have spent an hour or two together.”