Then the poor man remembered that when he was going away his wife had promised him a little child， and that this child， who had probably been born after he had left home， was his son and the hope in the house of which Tartacot had spoken， and which he had promised， not knowing what had happened at home。
“This means that I have been away from my house about sixteen or seventeen years！”he exclaimed。He had known that he had been away for some time， but he never thought that it was so long， and， greatly vexed， he began weeping over his misfortune in giving to that uncanny Tartacot such a beautiful lad。He would rather have lost all those animals instead of that strapping young fellow， for with his help he would easily have been able to earn his daily bread。What could he say now？ What had been done had been done。So he continued his journey and arrived at home。
The young lad wandered for over a year before he reached the house of Tartacot。The dwarf showed him at once what his tasks were， and as the boy was an able and capable lad， he did everything to the satisfaction of Tartacot， who grew to love him， and to care for him and to do for him everything pleasing。
But close to the realm of Tartacot there was the estate of the Dracu （the demon）， who had a daughter that was a devil and a half， with eyes sparkling like fire， a small mouth， rosy cheeks， and beautiful to behold。She did not in any way resemble her father， and no doubt her mother must have been a human being。But who the mother may have been is not our business； for us it is sufficient to known that Tudor fell in love with her daughter so deeply that when he did not see her for one day he felt quite lost。
The girl， surrounded as she was by all kinds of skimpy， misshapen and black little devils as ugly as could be， fell also in love with him。They knew， however， that the old Dracu would never consent to their marrying， so they decided to run away， and one night Tudor put the daughter on a white charger which Tartacot had given him， and the way lay open for them。
When morning came the old mother of the Dracu felt that they had disappeared， and she sent her son quickly in pursuit。When he was almost upon them， the girl realized something was wrong， and she told the lad to look back and see what he could espy。After he had turned round he said to her：
“A big black raven is coming fast after us。”
“That is my terrible father，”said the girl。“I will change myself into a church， and you into a ministering monk standing in front of me。”
So they changed quickly， and the black raven came flying along， looking slantingly at the church， for no demon can pass a church and look straight at it。After having flown on a little longer and having lost sight of them， he returned home。No sooner had he passed them again on his way home than they at once changed into human beings and continued their journey。
When the Dracu reached home and told his mother that he had found no trace of the runaway couple， and that the only thing he had seen was a small church and a ministering priest， the old woman gave him such a box on the ears that his brains shook in his head。For， also among the devils， the women are worse than the men， and when they lose their temper no man devil is a match for them。
“These were the very boy and girl， you ne’er-do-well！ Get up， hasten after them， and catch them up。What are you waiting for？ Bring them back， and I will teach them what it means to run away。”
When the Dracu heard his mother’s words， he started again in pursuit。He came close to them， and the girl again said to the young man：
“Just look back and see what is coming。”
“A black magpie is coming fast as burning fire。”
“You change into a forester and I into a forest，”she cried； and again the demon passed them， for how should he know that the man had become a forester and the girl a forest。He did not understand these things as his mother did， who knew much more。
So he went back without any success。When the mother heard his tale， she was so furious she spat in his face。Then she wrapped herself in her long mantle， sat herself upon a mortar and knocked three times on it， and at once she jumped over three frontiers， far ahead of the runaways。
When the girl saw that her grandmother was after her-whose cunning and cleverness she knew-she became a little frightened； but she would not give in， and so turned herself into a lake with three feet of mud at the bottom， and the lad she changed into a drake swimming on the water。
When the old she-devil came and saw the lake and the drake， she understood at once that the one was the girl and the other was the boy。Now， the drake kept to the middle of the lake， and she could not catch him， for the girl had told him to keep to the middle， and not to get near to the shore under any circumstances。He was also warned by her to keep his eyes closed lest the old devil should steal them。He must keep them tightly closed。
The old she-Dracu tried to inveigle him by one means or another。She offered him nice worms to eat， nice pickings， but the drake did not move； he stuck to his place。
When she saw that there were no means of inducing the drake to come to the shore， what did she do？ As a real she-devil， which she was， she suddenly turned on him and said：“You just look at me； I am the real she-devil。The girl with whom you ran away is only a mongrel。”
The boy， curious to see a real Dracu， turned to her in order to see what she looked like， for he had often heard her spoken of， but had never seen her， so he now opened his eyes and looked。No sooner had he opened his eyes than the old she-devil drew them out， leaving him blind， and then went away。
As soon as she had departed the boy and girl at once became human beings。
“There， now，”said the girl，“I told you not to open your eyes， but you did not heed me， and now you have lost them。Still， I hope to be able to get them again for you。You just wait here for me。I am going back， and I will try to steal them from the old hag。”
The old woman， tired from her journey， laid herself down to sleep in the forest under the shade of the trees close to a well。The girl， coming that way， saw her lying fast asleep， so she opened the old devil’s hands， in which she held the two eyes of the young man， and put in their place two lumps of mud。When the old woman woke up， she lifted her legs on to her shoulders and marched off， and on arriving at home her son asked her：
“Well， have you been able to do it？ What success have you had？”
“I am not such an awkward idiot as you。Do you think I am not capable of doing as much as you？ I have drawn out his eyes； here they are。Just look at them。”
