Then the youth took out his coffer, struck the flint-stone, and bade the black bounding efrit get him tidings of the three sisters. In a short time the efrit re-appeared with the three damsels, who were preparing a banquet for the brothers. He made them all sit on the bird's back, took with him again forty tons of ox-flesh and forty pitchers of water, and away they all went to the land of the three damsels. Every time the Anka said "Gik!" he gave her flesh to eat, and every time she said "Gak!" he gave her water to drink. But as the youth now had three with him besides himself, it came to pass that the flesh ran short, so that when the Anka said "Gik!" once more he had nothing to give her. Then the youth drew his knife, cut a piece of flesh out of his thigh, and stuffed it into the bird's mouth.[1] The Anka perceived that it was human flesh and did not eat it, but kept it in her mouth, and when they had reached the realm of the three damsels, the bird told him that he might now go in peace.
But the poor youth could not move a step because of the smart in his leg. "Thou go on first," he said to the bird, "but I will first rest me here a while."
"Nay, but thou art a droll rogue," quoth the bird, and with that it spit out of its mouth the piece of
- ↑ The same incident occurs in the Cossack fairy-tale of the Bird Zhar and the Russian fairy-tale of the Bird Mogol.
