Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/102

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Tales and Legends

the dwelling of the Sister of the Sun; he rode in and the big golden gates were closed after him. Meanwhile, the witch began thinking what she had better do to get at him. She knocked at the gates, and the Sister of the Sun, in all her dazzling beauty, came out to her.

"Let me have a pair of scales, great Sister of the Sun," said the witch, "and see who is heavier, my brother or I; if I am heavier I will eat him; if he is heavier, he can eat me, or do whatever he likes with me!"

The Sister of the Sun laughed at this; but, nevertheless, she agreed to the proposal, for she knew what would happen. The prince jumped on to the scales first, but hardly had the witch put her foot upon the scales, when up went the prince high in the air, and would certainly have fallen had the Sun not caught him in his arms, and taken him to his glorious home in the sky, where, to the prince's delight, the Sister of the Sun soon joined them, leaving the witch to stamp about in a tremendous rage at not having been able to eat her brother; and I believe she is still alive, reigning near the World's End, unless some brave knight has been able to kill her.