little in advance of her attendants. All at once there arose a strong wind, such as was neither known nor heard of before, such a wind as was never remembered by the oldest people,—it blew a perfect hurricane. In a moment the wind lifted the princess up and carried her away. The attendants screamed; some ran away in terror, others looked helplessly around them, and saw how the wind bore the beautiful Vasilisa with the Golden Tress out of their sight. It carried her over many countries and deep rivers, through three kingdoms into a fourth, which belonged to a terrible dragon.
The women ran into the palace, and falling on their knees before the czar, cried piteously,—
"Have mercy, and do not punish us! The wind has carried away our light—the beautiful Vasilisa with the Golden Tress—we know not whither!" And they told him all that had happened. The czar was very angry with them, and deeply grieved at the loss of his daughter; nevertheless, he forgave them all. On the following morning the foreign princes arrived, and seeing what grief was depicted on the czar's countenance, they enquired the cause of it.
"Woe is me!" cried the unhappy czar, "the wind has carried away my dear daughter Vasilisa with the Golden Tress, and I know not whither she has gone!" And he told them all that had happened.
