The Prince , moved by pity , without thinking what he was doing , ran to the courtyard of the castle , and filled a jug with water , which he poured over the man in the cauldron . In a moment a most fearful crash was heard , as if all the pillars of the palace were giving way , and the palace itself , with towers and doors , windows and the cauldron , whirled round the bewildered Prince 's head . This continued for a few minutes , and then everything vanished into thin air , and Iwanich found himself suddenly alone upon a desolate heath covered with rocks and stones . The Prince , who now realised what his heedlessness had done , cursed too late his spirit of curiosity . In his despair he wandered on over the heath , never looking where he put his feet , and full of sorrowful thoughts . At last he saw a light in the distance , which came from a miserable-looking little hut . The owner of it was none other than the kind-hearted gaunt grey beggar who had given the Prince the bag of bread-crumbs and the hare . Without recognising Iwanich , he opened the door when he knocked and gave him shelter for the night . On the following morning the Prince asked his host if he could get him any work to do , as he was quite unknown in the neighbourhood , and had not enough money to take him home . ` My son , ' replied the old man , ` all this country round here is uninhabited ; I myself have to wander to distant villages for my living , and even then I do not very often find enough to satisfy my hunger . But if you would like to take service with the old witch Corva , go straight up the little stream which flows below my hut for about three hours , and you will come to a sand-hill on the left-hand side ; that is where she lives . ' Iwanich thanked the gaunt grey beggar for his information , and went on his way . After walking for about three hours the Prince came upon a dreary-looking grey stone wall ; this was the back of the building and did not attract him ; but when he came upon the front of the house he found it even less inviting , for the old witch had surrounded her dwelling with a fence of spikes , on every one of which a man 's skull was stuck . In this horrible enclosure stood a small black house , which had only two grated windows , all covered with cobwebs , and a battered iron door . The Prince knocked , and a rasping woman 's voice told him to enter . Iwanich opened the door , and found himself in a smoke-begrimed kitchen , in the presence of a hideous old woman who was warming her skinny hands at a fire . The Prince offered to become her servant , and the old hag told him she was badly in want of one , and he seemed to be just the person to suit her . When Iwanich asked what his work , and how much his wages would be , the witch bade him follow her , and led the way through a narrow damp passage into a vault , which served as a stable . Here he perceived two pitch-black horses in a stall . ` You see before you , ' said the old woman , ' a mare and her foal ; you have nothing to do but to lead them out to the fields every day , and to see that neither of them runs away from you .
If you look after them both for a whole year I will give you anything you like XXXXX ask ; but if , on the other hand , you let either of the animals escape you , your last hour is come , and your head shall be stuck on the last spike of my fence .
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