The prince declared that the arrow was his , and the gardener 's boy was quite sure it was HIS -- and on this occasion he was perfectly right ; but , as they could not decide the matter , they went straight to the king . When the king had heard the story , he decided that the feather belonged to his son ; but the other boy would not listen to this and claimed the feather for himself . At length the king 's patience gave way , and he said angrily : ` Very well ; if you are so sure that the feather is yours , yours it shall be ; only you will have to seek till you find a golden hen with a feather missing from her tail . And if you fail to find her your head will be the forfeit . ' The boy had need of all his courage to listen silently to the king 's words . He had no idea where the golden hen might be , or even , if he discovered that , how he was to get to her . But there was nothing for it but to do the king 's bidding , and he felt that the sooner he left the palace the better . So he went home and put some food into a bag , and then set forth , hoping that some accident might show him which path to take . After walking for several hours he met a fox , who seemed inclined to be friendly , and the boy was so glad to have anyone to talk to that he sat down and entered into conversation . ` Where are you going ? ' asked the fox . ' I have got to find a golden hen who has lost a feather out of her tail , ' answered the boy ; ` but I do n't know where she lives or how I shall catch her ! ' ` Oh , I can show you the way ! ' said the fox , who was really very good-natured . ` Far towards the east , in that direction , lives a beautiful maiden who is called `` The Sister of the Sun . '' She has three golden hens in her house . Perhaps the feather belongs to one of them . ' The boy was delighted at this news , and they walked on all day together , the fox in front , and the boy behind . When evening came they lay down to sleep , and put the knapsack under their heads for a pillow . Suddenly , about midnight , the fox gave a low whine , and drew nearer to his bedfellow .
` Cousin , ' he whispered very low , ` there is someone coming who will take the XXXXX away from me .
Sister accident bedfellow day evening hours knapsack left midnight right