Her heart beat fast and she wept bitterly , for she remembered the old woman 's warning and knew not what misfortune might now befall her . The old woman returned in the night and knew by the tarnished thread what had happened in her absence . She was furiously angry and told the maiden that she had brought down misery both on herself and on the Prince . The maiden could not rest for thinking of this . At last she could bear it no longer , and resolved to seek help from the Prince . As a child she had learned to understand the speech of birds , and this was now of great use to her , for , seeing a raven pluming itself on a pine bough , she cried softly to it : `` Dear bird , cleverest of all birds , as well as swiftest on wing , wilt thou help me ? '' `` How can I help thee ? '' asked the raven . She answered : `` Fly away , until thou comest to a splendid town , where stands a king 's palace ; seek out the king 's son and tell him that a great misfortune has befallen me . '' Then she told the raven how her thread had lost its brightness , how terribly angry the old woman was , and how she feared some great disaster . The raven promised faithfully to do her bidding , and , spreading its wings , flew away . The maiden now went home and worked hard all day at winding up the yarn her elder sisters had spun , for the old woman would let her spin no longer . Toward evening she heard the raven 's `` craa , craa , '' from the pine tree and eagerly hastened thither to hear the answer . By great good fortune the raven had found a wind wizard 's son in the palace garden , who understood the speech of birds , and to him he had entrusted the message . When the Prince heard it , he was very sorrowful , and took counsel with his friends how to free the maiden . Then he said to the wind wizard 's son : `` Beg the raven to fly quickly back to the maiden and tell her to be ready on the ninth night , for then will I come and fetch her away . '' The wind wizard 's son did this , and the raven flew so swiftly that it reached the hut that same evening . The maiden thanked the bird heartily and went home , telling no one what she had heard . As the ninth night drew near she became very unhappy , for she feared lest some terrible mischance should arise and ruin all . On this night she crept quietly out of the house and waited trembling at some little distance from the hut .
Presently she heard the muffled tramp XXXXX horses , and soon the armed troop appeared , led by the Prince , who had prudently marked all the trees beforehand , in order to know the way .
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