At the end of that year the third brother followed them。He was the cleverest of the three。Arrived at the palace， his soldiers surrounded it， and， like the other ones， they began drinking； but he did not follow the example of his brothers， for he did not drink anything。When he saw his soldiers lying about he stole quietly away and climbed up a high tree which was overlooking the palace， and as the foliage was very dense， he was able to hide in that tree and see everything without being seen。Thus he waited there the whole day until night。When night fell he heard a whirr through the air， and he saw the Queen flying， and as she drew nearer he saw her picking up the soldiers with the point of a sword and throwing them behind the palace。
The young King burned with anger at the sight of his poor soldiers thus foully murdered。What was he to do？ He could not help them。When he beheld her on her flight back and saw her extraordinary beauty， in spite of the blood-stained sword in her hand， he forgot all that had happened。All his fear left him， and， climbing down quickly from the tree， he leapt upon a charger which he believed belonged to one of his soldiers， and began following her in the direction she had taken in her flight。It was his luck that the Black Queen could not look back， for had she done so and seen him that would have been the end of him。
He rode on as fast as the legs of the charger could carry him， over hill and dale， through forests and across fields， on to the top of a mountain， where the horse dropped down from exhaustion。There he lost sight of the Queen。He had reached the Kingdom of the Finches。What was he now to do？ He asked the Finches whether they knew where Arapushka lived。“We do not know，”they all replied with one voice；“but if you wish it we will show you the path she takes in her flight， for she passes this way very often， but never stops here。”So they took him as far as the frontier of their kingdom， and the Finches then left him there。
Finding himself alone， he followed the straight road， and going along for some length of time he came to the Kingdom of the Ravens， then to that of the Eagles， and then to that of the Storks； but they also answered his questions in the same way as the Finches， that they did not know where the Black Queen was living， except that they saw her flying across their countries from time to time。
Leaving them， he went on his way， and came to the Kingdoms of the Larks， Starlings and Cuckoos。The Kings of these birds sent out messengers to gather together all their subjects， but not one of them could tell where the Black Queen was living。Very late there came a lame lark limping along。
“Your Majesties，”he said，“I know where the Kingdom of the Arapushka is。”
“Do you really know？”
“How am I not to know since it was there that I got lame in my leg， and this for my sins。”
“Now， who is that Arapushka？”
“This Arapushka is a woman like all women，”he replied，“but her power lies in her scimitar。With that in her hand she can destroy the whole world， but without it she has no power whatsoever。”
The Kingthen asked，“Can you tell me what I must do in order to get to her Kingdom？”
“I can tell you， but it is very difficult。”
“Never mind， let it be as difficult as it may；”and the lark replied，“If that is the case， may you have success，”and， stretching out his wing， he tapped the young King on the face and told him to turn three somersaults。The young King did as he was told， and he became a fly like all flies， only with the difference that he could speak and understand everything。
“Now，”said the lark，“mount on my back，”and taking leave of the Kings， he with one jump rose up to the Kingdom of the Storm Wind， and thence let himself down。
“Wonderful how quickly thou didst fly！”said the young King， who could scarcely keep himself from gliding off the back of the lark。“Well，”he said，“if we travelled as men do it would have taken us three years to come to this place， so that is why I changed you into a fly；”and then he went on until they reached the borders of the Black Queen’s Kingdom。There the lark told him to turn again a somersault， and he became a man。The lark showed him the road he was to take and the way he was to go up the hill， for there he would find the house of Arapushka。He was to try and get in at the back， where he would find a door made entirely of gold。This door he was to open gently， and to enter the chamber where Arapushka as a rule used to sleep whenever she returned from a journey。There he was to wait， and bide his time until she was fast asleep， then gently take away the scimitar； and he was to run away and hide it even， if necessary， in the serpent’s hole， so deeply and so cunningly that Arapushka should not be able to find it when she searched for it。
“If you succeed in taking the scimitar away， then you can do with her whatever you like， for her whole strength lies in that sword。”
