Vassili dared not disobey . He said good-bye to his young wife , who cried bitterly at parting , hung a bag of biscuits over his shoulders , and set out . I really can not tell you whether the journey was long or short . As he tramped along he suddenly heard a voice saying : ` Vassili ! where are you going ? ' Vassili looked about him , and , seeing no one , called out : ` Who spoke to me ? ' ' I did ; this old wide-spreading oak . Tell me where you are going . ' ' I am going to the Serpent King to receive twelve years ' rent from him . ' ` When the time comes , remember me and ask the king : `` Rotten to the roots , half dead but still green , stands the old oak . Is it to stand much longer on the earth ? '' ' Vassili went on further . He came to a river and got into the ferryboat . The old ferryman asked : ` Are you going far , my friend ? ' ' I am going to the Serpent King . ' ` Then think of me and say to the king : `` For thirty years the ferryman has rowed to and fro . Will the tired old man have to row much longer ? '' ' ` Very well , ' said Vassili ; ` I 'll ask him . ' And he walked on . In time he came to a narrow strait of the sea and across it lay a great whale over whose back people walked and drove as if it had been a bridge or a road .
As he stepped XXXXX it the whale said , ` Do tell me where you are going . ' '
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