daughter to marry the slayer of the Dragon; he found her already
willing to bestow her hand upon this hero, who had done all alone
what whole armies had tried in vain to do. In a few days a
magnificent wedding was celebrated, at which the rejoicings
lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring kings had met
together to thank the man who had freed the world from their
common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they
ought to have buried the Dragon's monstrous body, for it began
now to have such a bad smell that no one could live in the
neighbourhood, and before long the whole air was poisoned, and a
pestilence broke out which destroyed many hundreds of people. In
this distress, the King's son-in-law resolved to seek help once
more from the Eastern magician, to whom he at once travelled
through the air like a bird by the help of the ring. But there
is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains never prosper, and
the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him ill-luck after
all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day until she
had found out where the ring was. As soon as she had discovered
by means of magical arts that the Prince in the form of a bird
was on his way to the Eastern magician, she changed herself into
an eagle and watched in the air until the bird she was waiting
for came in sight, for she knew him at once by the ring which was
hung round his neck by a ribbon. Then the eagle pounced upon the
bird, and the moment she seized him in her talons she tore the
ring from his neck before the man in bird's shape had time to
prevent her. Then the eagle flew down to the earth with her
prey, and the two stood face to face once more in human form.

'Now, villain, you are in my power!' cried the Witch-maiden. 'I
favoured you with my love, and you repaid me with treachery and