` Strike the Welwa on the mouth with the bridle , ' said the horse , and Petru did it . The Welwa uttered a neigh so loud that Petru thought he would be deaf for life , and then , though she too was nearly spent , flung herself upon her enemy ; but Petru was on the watch and threw the bridle over her head , as she rushed on , so that when the day broke there were three horses trotting beside him . ` May your wife be the most beautiful of women , ' said the Welwa , ` for you have delivered me from my enchantment . ' So the four horses galloped fast , and by nightfall they were at the borders of the golden forest . Then Petru began to think of the crowns that he wore , and what they had cost him . ` After all , what do I want with so many ? I will keep the best , ' he said to himself ; and taking off first the copper crown and then the silver , he threw them away . ` Stay ! ' cried the horse , ` do not throw them away ! Perhaps we shall find them of use . Get down and pick them up . ' So Petru got down and picked them up , and they all went on . In the evening , when the sun is getting low , and all the midges are beginning to bite , Peter saw a wide heath stretching before him . At the same instant the horse stood still of itself . ` What is the matter ? ' asked Petru . ' I am afraid that something evil will happen to us , ' answered the horse . ` But why should it ? ' ` We are going to enter the kingdom of the goddess Mittwoch , -LRB- 2 -RRB- and the further we ride into it the colder we shall get . But all along the road there are huge fires , and I dread lest you should stop and warm yourself at them . '
-LRB- 2 -RRB- In German ` Mittwoch , ' the feminine form XXXXX Mercury .
So along at by for from of over upon with