By-and-by the old man came back and they all sat down to dinner . When they had finished the magician said : ` Now , my son , tell me what you will have as the reward of your courage ? ' ` Give me the horse that stands in the third stall of your stable , ' answered the youth . ` For I have a long way to go before I get home , and my feet will not carry me so far . ' ` Ah ! my son , ' replied the magician , ` it is the best horse in my stable that you want ! Will not anything else please you as well ? ' But the youth declared that it was the horse , and the horse only , that he desired , and in the end the old man gave way . And besides the horse , the magician gave him a zither , a fiddle , and a flute , saying : ` If you are in danger , touch the zither ; and if no one comes to your aid , then play on the fiddle ; but if that brings no help , blow on the flute . ' The youth thanked the magician , and fastening his treasures about him mounted the horse and rode off . He had already gone some miles when , to his great surprise , the horse spoke , and said : ` It is no use your returning home just now , your father will only beat you . Let us visit a few towns first , and something lucky will be sure to happen to us . ' This advice pleased the boy , for he felt himself almost a man by this time , and thought it was high time he saw the world . When they entered the capital of the country everyone stopped to admire the beauty of the horse . Even the king heard of it , and came to see the splendid creature with his own eyes . Indeed , he wanted directly to buy it , and told the youth he would give any price he liked . The young man hesitated for a moment , but before he could speak , the horse contrived to whisper to him : ` Do not sell me , but ask the king to take me to his stable , and feed me there ; then his other horses will become just as beautiful as I. ' The king was delighted when he was told what the horse had said , and took the animal at once to the stables , and placed it in his own particular stall . Sure enough , the horse had scarcely eaten a mouthful of corn out of the manger , when the rest of the horses seemed to have undergone a transformation . Some of them were old favourites which the king had ridden in many wars , and they bore the signs of age and of service . But now they arched their heads , and pawed the ground with their slender legs as they had been wont to do in days long gone by .
The king 's heart beat with delight , but the old groom who had had the care of them stood crossly XXXXX , and eyed the owner of this wonderful creature with hate and envy .
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