forthwith bought the entire ship off Iván. And when Iván saw this, he said: "You may take all my goods, but I will not sell my vessel, for therein do I have an old man who is my clerk, and we should not be able to live in the town." "Oh," said the king, "are there two of you?" And the king, on hearing this, became very angry, and said: "I will not let you go, but I must have the ship." And Iván went down on his knees and besought him that he would let them go. Then the king said: "If one of you will read some psalms for three nights to my daughter who is now in the church, you may keep the ship." For his daughter was a witch, and every night turned into a human being.
Iván returned to his ship, and he was sad and disheartened. He did not wish to go himself, for he did not wish to die; and if he dismissed the old man, it was very hard to part.
The old man said to Iván: "Why, Ivánushka, why are you so miserable and hang your head?" And Iván told him all that had happened, and what the king had said. So the old man answered him: "Never mind, Ivánushka, cheer up! Pray to the Saviour, and lie down and sleep, and I will think out some means of getting out of the danger."
Soon it began to grow dark, and the old man roused Iván and said: "Here are three tapers. As long as the first burns, pray to God; when the second is burnt out, light the third, and then enter by the right-hand side of the Holy Gates by the altar-screen and say nothing; only mutter a prayer all the time. Go, and God bless you."
So Iván landed, and the king's attendants took Iván into the church and locked it, and he began to read the Psalter. One candle went out and then another, and he lighted the third, and lay down at the right-hand side of the Holy Gates. Then the flooring suddenly jumped up, and the witch began to search for Iván: "Where
