And the boy , peeping through the bushes , saw a man . ` Oh , I do n't think he will rob us ! ' said the boy ; and when the man drew near , he told them his story , which so much interested the stranger that he asked leave to travel with them , as he might be of some use . So when the sun rose they set out again , the fox in front as before , the man and boy following . After some hours they reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun , who kept the golden hens among her treasures . They halted before the gate and took counsel as to which of them should go in and see the lady herself . ' I think it would be best for me to enter and steal the hens , ' said the fox ; but this did not please the boy at all . ` No , it is my business , so it is right that I should go , ' answered he . ` You will find it a very difficult matter to get hold of the hens , ' replied the fox . ` Oh , nothing is likely to happen to me , ' returned the boy . ` Well , go then , ' said the fox , ` but be careful not to make any mistake . Steal only the hen which has the feather missing from her tail , and leave the others alone . ' The man listened , but did not interfere , and the boy entered the court of the palace . He soon spied the three hens strutting proudly about , though they were really anxiously wondering if there were not some grains lying on the ground that they might be glad to eat . And as the last one passed by him , he saw she had one feather missing from her tail . At this sight the youth darted forward and seized the hen by the neck so that she could not struggle . Then , tucking her comfortably under his arm , he made straight for the gate . Unluckily , just as he was about to go through it he looked back and caught a glimpse of wonderful splendours from an open door of the palace . ` After all , there is no hurry , ' he said to himself ; ' I may as well see something now I AM here , ' and turned back , forgetting all about the hen , which escaped from under his arm , and ran to join her sisters . He was so much fascinated by the sight of all the beautiful things which peeped through the door that he scarcely noticed that he had lost the prize he had won ; and he did not remember there was such a thing as a hen in the world when he beheld the Sister of the Sun sleeping on a bed before him .
For some time he stood staring ; then he came XXXXX himself with a start , and feeling that he had no business there , softly stole away , and was fortunate enough to recapture the hen , which he took with him to the gate .
After At among from if that though through to under