No, he would not touch it, said the Prince; but when he had got the bird on his hand he thought he must have a twig of the tree; there was no help for it, it was so bright and beautiful. So he took a tiny little sprig, but the same moment the troll came out.
"Who is that stealing my tree and my bird?" roared the troll, and he was so angry that he spurted sparks of fire.
"Thieves believe that all men steal," said the Prince; "but only those get hanged who do not steal properly," said he.
The troll said that made no difference, and was going to kill him, but the Prince begged him to spare his life.
"Well," said the troll, "if you can bring me back the horse which my nearest neighbor has taken from me you will get off with your life."
"Where shall I find it, then?" said the Prince.
"Oh, he lives three hundred miles at the back of that big blue mountain against the horizon yonder," said the troll.
The Prince promised he would do his best. But when he came back to the fox he found him in rather a bad temper.
"Now you have got yourself into trouble," said the fox; "if you had listened to me we could have been on our way home by this time," said he.
So they had to make a fresh start, for the Prince had pledged his word, and his life depended on his finding the horse.