The youth went on his way: he went, he went, he went, so far he went, good sir, that the 'three day colt' (of fable) could not go so far. He looked, and, lo! a frightened eagle perched on his shoulder, and said: 'Youth, on thee depends my safety!' The youth protected it also from its pursuer. Then the eagle said to him: 'Some day I shall do thee a service.'
The youth went on: he went through the forest, he went, he went, he went, he went farther than he could, he went a week, two weeks, a year and three months. Then he heard some fearful rumbling, roaring, thunder and lightning--something was coming through the forest, breaking down all the trees. A great jackal appeared, and ran up to the youth, saying: 'If thou wilt thou canst protect me; the prince is pursuing me with all his army.' The youth saved the jackal, as he had saved the other animals. Then the jackal said: 'Some day I shall help thee.'
The youth went on his way, and, when he was out of the wood, came to a town. In this town he found a castle of crystal, in the courtyard of which he saw a great number of young men, some dying and some dead. He asked the meaning of this, and was told: 'The king of this land has a daughter, a maiden queen; she has made a proclamation that she will wed him that can hide himself from her; but no man can hide himself from her, and all these men has she slain, for he that cannot hide himself from her is cast down from the top of the castle.'
When the youth heard this, he at once arose, and went to the maiden. They bowed themselves each to the other. The maiden asked him: 'Wherefore art thou come hither?' The youth answered: 'I come for that which others have come for.' She immediately called her viziers together, and they wrote out the usual contract.
The youth went out from the castle, came to the seashore, sat down, and was soon buried in thought. Just then, something made a great splash in the sea, came and swallowed the youth, carried him into the Red Sea, there they were hidden in the depths of the sea, near the shore. The youth remained there all that night.
When the maiden arose next morning she brought her mirror and looked in it, but she found nothing in the sky, she looked on the dry land, and found nothing there, she looked at the sea--and then she saw the youth in the belly of the fish, which was hiding in the deep waters. After a short time, the fish threw up the youth on the place where it had found him. He went merrily to the maiden. She asked: 'Well, then, didst thou hide thyself?' 'Yes, I hid myself.' But the maiden told him where he had been, and how he got there, and added: 'This time I forgive thee, for the cleverness thou hast shown.'