In front of him stands a golden bowl filled with goats ' milk , and if you can manage to dip a piece of bread in this milk , and eat it before you are obliged to fly , you will understand all the secrets of the night that are hidden from other men . It is lucky for you that the serpent-king 's feast happens to fall this year , otherwise you would have had long to wait for it . But take care to be quick and bold , or it will be the worse for you . ' The young man thanked the wizard for his counsel , and went his way firmly resolved to carry out his purpose , even if he paid for it with his life ; and when night came he set out for a wide , lonely moor , where the serpent-king held his feast . With sharpened eyes , he looked eagerly all round him , but could see nothing but a multitude of small hillocks , that lay motionless under the moonlight . He crouched behind a bush for some time , till he felt that midnight could not be far off , when suddenly there arose in the middle of the moor a brilliant glow , as if a star was shining over one of the hillocks . At the same moment all the hillocks began to writhe and to crawl , and from each one came hundreds of serpents and made straight for the glow , where they knew they should find their king . When they reached the hillock where he dwelt , which was higher and broader than the rest , and had a bright light hanging over the top , they coiled themselves up and waited . The whirr and confusion from all the serpent-houses were so great that the youth did not dare to advance one step , but remained where he was , watching intently all that went on ; but at last he began to take courage , and moved on softly step by step . What he saw was creepier than creepy , and surpassed all he had ever dreamt of . Thousands of snakes , big and little and of every colour , were gathered together in one great cluster round a huge serpent , whose body was as thick as a beam , and which had on its head a golden crown , from which the light sprang . Their hissings and darting tongues so terrified the young man that his heart sank , and he felt he should never have courage to push on to certain death , when suddenly he caught sight of the golden bowl in front of the serpent-king , and knew that if he lost this chance it would never come back . So , with his hair standing on end and his blood frozen in his veins , he crept forwards . Oh ! what a noise and a whirr rose afresh among the serpents . Thousands of heads were reared , and tongues were stretched out to sting the intruder to death , but happily for him their bodies were so closely entwined one in the other that they could not disentangle themselves quickly . Like lightning he seized a bit of bread , dipped it in the bowl , and put it in his mouth , then dashed away as if fire was pursuing him . On he flew as if a whole army of foes were at his heels , and he seemed to hear the noise of their approach growing nearer and nearer . At length his breath failed him , and he threw himself almost senseless on the turf . While he lay there dreadful dreams haunted him .
He thought XXXXX the serpent-king with the fiery crown had twined himself round him , and was crushing out his life .
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