When one got up , the others got up too , as if there had been only one body between them . The Sultan could not detect any difference between them , and he told his aunt that he would not be so cruel as to kill all three . ` Well , you will see a difference to-morrow , ' replied the witch , ` for one will have a cut on his sleeve . That is the youth you must kill . ' And one hour before midnight , when witches are invisible , she glided into the room where all three lads were sleeping in the same bed . She took out a pair of scissors and cut a small piece out of the boy 's coat-sleeve which was hanging on the wall , and then crept silently from the room . But in the morning the youth saw the slit , and he marked the sleeves of his two companions in the same way , and all three went down to breakfast with the Sultan . The old witch was standing in the window and pretended not to see them ; but all witches have eyes in the backs of their heads , and she knew at once that not one sleeve but three were cut , and they were all as alike as before . After breakfast , the Sultan , who was getting tired of the whole affair and wanted to be alone to invent some other plan , told them they might return home . So , bowing low with one accord , they went . The princess welcomed the boy back joyfully , but the poor youth was not allowed to rest long in peace , for one day a fresh letter arrived from the Sultan , saying that he had discovered that the young man was a very dangerous person , and that he must be sent to Turkey at once , and alone . The girl burst into tears when the boy told her what was in the letter which her father had bade her to carry to him . ` Do not weep , love of my heart , ' said the boy , ` all will be well . I will start at sunrise to-morrow . ' So next morning at sunrise the youth set forth , and in a few days he reached the Sultan 's palace . The old witch was waiting for him at the gate , and whispered as he passed : ` This is the last time you will ever enter it . ' But the sword clanked , and the lad did not even look at her . As he crossed the threshold fifteen armed Turks barred his way , with the Sultan at their head . Instantly the sword darted forth and cut off the heads of everyone but the Sultan , and then went quietly back to its scabbard . The witch , who was looking on , saw that as long as the youth had possession of the sword , all her schemes would be in vain , and tried to steal the sword in the night , but it only jumped out of its scabbard and sliced off her nose , which was of iron .
And in the morning , when the Sultan brought a great army to capture the lad and deprive him of his sword , they were all cut XXXXX pieces , while he remained without a scratch .
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