"You see that I cannot direct you on your way; but go, from me, to my
sister, who is Queen of the Birds; perhaps she will know better than I.
Mount on the back of this wolf, he will carry you to her."
The Prince again thanked her, and set off on the back of his strange
steed. In the evening he found himself in the depths of a forest and
saw, once more, a tiny light shining in the distance. The wolf stopped
and said:--
"Yonder is the dwelling-place of the sister of my sovereign. Here we
must part."
The Prince descended into an underground cabin, and found there another
good old woman, who received him politely, and asked him for what
purpose he was travelling. He replied that he was in search of the Land
of Youth.
"Ah!" she said, "I have lived six hundred winters, and have never
heard speak of that country. But to-morrow I will question the birds."
The Prince thanked her and slept soundly.
Next day the old woman blew her horn, and immediately a great noise was
heard in the air. The birds flew hurriedly from all sides. Their Queen
asked them whether they knew where the Land of Youth was, but they
replied that they did not know.