Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/150

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"We shall roll, and we shall play, with the boy Ivashko's bones!"

When Ivashko heard this he was greatly amused, and said, in a very low tone of voice,—

You are rolling, you are playing, with the girl Alenka's bones!"

"I heard something very strange!" said one of the witches.

"Oh, no, it was nothing but the leaves of the tree!" returned the hostess.

And they chanted as before,—

We shall roll, and we shall play, with the boy Ivashko's bones!"

Still Ivashko continued,—

You are rolling, you are playing, with the girl Alenka's bones!"

This time all the witches heard the voice, and on looking up to the tree our friend the hag saw Ivashko sitting laughing at her, as though he enjoyed the joke! The witch, greatly enraged, flew to the tree and began biting it; but she soon broke her front teeth in doing so! However, she was not to be "done." She ran to the blacksmith, and ordered a set of iron teeth! After this she flew once more to the tree, and began to bite at it, and very soon down came the tree; but without Ivashko, for the clever boy had jumped to another, thicker than the first. On seeing this, the angry witch flew to bite that also; but the trunk was so thick that she actually broke her iron teeth over it! Away she ran to the blacksmith once more, and cried,—