142
Tales and Legends
To roast me, fires burn and glow.
To boil me, kettles seethe below.
And to take thy brother's life
Glitters many a threatening knife."
But Olga only replied, —
"O! my brother, Oleg dear!
The stones will hold me down, I fear.
Round my feet the long grass clings;
And my heart the serpent stings."
The little kid began to cry again and went back to the palace; but at midday he went once more to the king, and asked him whether he might again go to the lake for a drink. The king consented.
Away went the little kid, and cried out as before,—
"Olga! sister dear, awake!
Swim to the surface of the lake.
To roast me, fires burn and glow.
To boil me, kettles seethe below.
And to take thy brother's life
Glitters many a threatening knife."
Still Olga only answered,—
"O! my brother, Oleg dear!
The stones will hold me down, I fear.
Round my feet the long grass clings;
And my heart the serpent stings."
The kid wept, and went home.
Meanwhile the young king began wondering why the little kid went so often to the lake for a drink. So when the kid asked the king once more whether he might go to the lake, he determined to follow and see what the kid did.
When the kid got to the shore, the king heard him call out,—
