He went at once to his son Iwanich , and after embracing him tenderly and heaping praises on him , he asked him how he had succeeded in protecting the costly fruit from the power of the magician . This question placed Iwanich in a dilemma . But as he did not want the real story to be known , he said that about midnight a huge wasp had flown through the branches , and buzzed incessantly round him . He had warded it off with his sword , and at dawn , when he was becoming quite worn out , the wasp had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared . The King , who never doubted the truth of this tale , bade his son go to rest at once and recover from the fatigues of the night ; but he himself went and ordered many feasts to be held in honour of the preservation of the wonderful fruit . The whole capital was in a stir , and everyone shared in the King 's joy ; the Prince alone took no part in the festivities . While the King was at a banquet , Iwanich took some purses of gold , and mounting the quickest horse in the royal stable , he sped off like the wind without a single soul being any the wiser . It was only on the next day that they missed him ; the King was very distressed at his disappearance , and sent search-parties all over the kingdom to look for him , but in vain ; and after six months they gave him up as dead , and in another six months they had forgotten all about him . But in the meantime the Prince , with the help of his ring , had had a most successful journey , and no evil had befallen him . At the end of three months he came to the entrance of a huge forest , which looked as if it had never been trodden by human foot before , and which seemed to stretch out indefinitely . The Prince was about to enter the wood by a little path he had discovered , when he heard a voice shouting to him : ` Hold , youth ! Whither are you going ? ' Iwanich turned round , and saw a tall , gaunt-looking man , clad in miserable rags , leaning on a crooked staff and seated at the foot of an oak tree , which was so much the same colour as himself that it was little wonder the Prince had ridden past the tree without noticing him . ` Where else should I be going , ' he said , ` than through the wood ? ' ` Through the wood ? ' said the old man in amazement . ` It 's easily seen that you have heard nothing of this forest , that you rush so blindly to meet your doom . Well , listen to me before you ride any further ; let me tell you that this wood hides in its depths a countless number of the fiercest tigers , hyenas , wolves , bears , and snakes , and all sorts of other monsters . If I were to cut you and your horse up into tiny morsels and throw them to the beasts , there would n't be one bit for each hundred of them . Take my advice , therefore , and if you wish to save your life follow some other path . '
The Prince was rather taken aback by the old man 's words , and considered for a minute what he should do ; then looking at his ring , and perceiving that it sparkled as brightly XXXXX ever , he called out : ` If this wood held even more terrible things than it does , I can not help myself , for I must go through it . '
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