Stooping down as he spoke he traced three circles on the ground and murmured some words very low , which Peronnik could not hear . Then he added aloud : Colt , free to run and free to eat . Colt , gallop fast until we meet , and instantly the colt appeared , frisking and jumping to the wizard , who threw a halter over his neck and leapt on his back . Peronnik kept silence at the farm about this adventure , but he understood very well that if he was ever to get to Kerglas he must first catch the colt which knew the way . Unhappily he had not heard the magic words uttered by the wizard , and he could not manage to draw the three circles , so if he was to summon the colt at all he must invent some other means of doing it . All day long , while he was herding the cows , he thought and thought how he was to call the colt , for he felt sure that once on its back he could overcome the other dangers . Meantime he must be ready in case a chance should come , and he made his preparations at night , when everyone was asleep . Remembering what he had seen the wizard do , he patched up an old halter that was hanging in a corner of the stable , twisted a rope of hemp to catch the colt 's feet , and a net such as is used for snaring birds . Next he sewed roughly together some bits of cloth to serve as a pocket , and this he filled with glue and lark 's feathers , a string of beads , a whistle of elder wood , and a slice of bread rubbed over with bacon fat . Then he went out to the path down which Rogear , his mare , and the colt always rode , and crumbled the bread on one side of it . Punctual to their hour all three appeared , eagerly watched by Peronnik , who lay hid in the bushes close by . Suppose it was useless ; suppose the mare , and not the colt , ate the crumbs ? Suppose -- but no ! the mare and her rider went safely by , vanishing round a corner , while the colt , trotting along with its head on the ground , smelt the bread , and began greedily to lick up the pieces . Oh , how good it was ! Why had no one ever given it that before , and so absorbed was the little beast , sniffing about after a few more crumbs , that it never heard Peronnik creep up till it felt the halter on its neck and the rope round its feet , and -- in another moment -- some one on its back . Going as fast as the hobbles would allow , the colt turned into one of the wildest parts of the forest , while its rider sat trembling at the strange sights he saw . Sometimes the earth seemed to open in front of them and he was looking into a bottomless pit ; sometimes the trees burst into flames and he found himself in the midst of a fire ; often in the act of crossing a stream the water rose and threatened to sweep him away ; and again , at the foot of a mountain , great rocks would roll towards him , as if they would crush him and his colt beneath their weight . To his dying day Peronnik never knew whether these things were real or if he only imagined them , but he pulled down his knitted cap so as to cover his eyes , and trusted the colt to carry him down the right road . At last the forest was left behind , and they came out on a wide plain where the air blew fresh and strong .
The idiot ventured to peep out , and found to his relief that the enchantments seemed XXXXX have ended , though a thrill of horror shot through him as he noticed the skeletons of men scattered over the plain , beside the skeletons of their horses .
At about after as if in on that to until