no heed and now our heads are forfeit. To-morrow we shall both be executed!"
"Weep not, little mother," he said, comforting her; "perhaps we shall not perish. Pray to God, take a drink of kwas, and lie down to sleep; we may find more wisdom in the morning than in the evening."
At midnight Martin rose, went outside the cottage, threw the ring from one hand to the other, and instantly the twelve youths appeared, saying: "What wouldst thou, Martin the peasant's son?" He bade them build the Palace as the Tzar's Minister had demanded, and at once they rushed away in different directions, returning with an army of masons, carpenters, and foremen, and the work began.
In the morning, the Tzar, going to his balcony, saw to his surprise the Palace, the cathedral, the crystal bridge with its costly carpets, and its trees with silver and gold apples, all as had been required. He sent, then, for his Ministers and Boyars, and bade the beautiful Tzarevna prepare for her bridal. "Little I thought," he said, "to behold thee wed the son of a peasant, but I see not how it can be avoided."
