He went into the house, and was kindly received and hospitably
entertained. It was not long before he was so much in love with
the witch-maiden that he thought of nothing else, and only looked
in her eyes, and whatever she wanted, that he gladly did. Then
the old witch said, 'Now we must have the bird-heart; he will not
feel when it is gone.' She prepared a drink, and when it was
ready she poured it in a goblet and gave it to the maiden, who
had to hand it to the hunter.

'Drink to me now, my dearest,' she said. Then he took the
goblet, and when he had swallowed the drink the bird-heart came
out of his mouth. The maiden had to get hold of it secretly and
then swallow it herself, for the old witch wanted to have it.
Thenceforward he found no more gold under his pillow, and it lay
under the maiden's; but he was so much in love and so much
bewitched that he thought of nothing except spending all his time
with the maiden.

Then the old witch said, 'We have the bird-heart, but we must
also get the wishing-cloak from him.'

The maiden answered, 'We will leave him that; he has already lost
his wealth!'

The old witch grew angry, and said, 'Such a cloak is a wonderful
thing, it is seldom to be had in the world, and have it I must
and will.' She beat the maiden, and said that if she did not
obey it would go ill with her.

So she did her mother's bidding, and, standing one day by the