But the king said : ' I will impose another task upon you , before you can wed my daughter . ' ` Speak on , ' said the stranger . ` Listen , then , ' answered the king ; ` you must mount a horse and ride three miles at full gallop , holding in each hand a goblet full of water . If you spill no drop then I shall give you my daughter to wife , but should you not succeed then I will take your life . ' Then the stranger returned to the house of the old woman , and again he was so troubled as to forget his zither . In the evening the princess came to the window as before to listen to the music , but again all was still ; and she called to him : ` What is the matter that you do not play on your zither ? ' Then he related all that the king had ordered him to do , and the princess answered : ` Do not let yourself be disturbed , only play now , and come to me to-morrow morning . ' Then next morning he went to her , and she gave him her ring , saying : ` Throw this ring into the water and it will immediately freeze , so that you will not spill any . ' The stranger did as the princess bade him , and carried the water all the way . Then the king said : ` Now I will give you a third task , and this shall be the last . I have a negro who will fight with you to-morrow , and if you are the conqueror you shall wed my daughter . ' The stranger returned , full of joy , to the house of the old woman , and that evening was so merry that the princess called to him : ` You seem very cheerful this evening ; what has my father told you that makes you so glad ? ' He answered : ` Your father has told me that to-morrow I must fight with his negro . He is only another man like myself , and I hope to subdue him , and to gain the contest . ' But the princess answered : ` This is the hardest of all . I myself am the black man , for I swallow a drink that changes me into a negro of unconquerable strength . Go to-morrow morning to the market , buy twelve buffalo hides and wrap them round your horse ; fasten this cloth round you , and when I am let loose upon you to-morrow show it to me , that I may hold myself back and may not kill you . Then when you fight me you must try to hit my horse between the eyes , for when you have killed it you have conquered me . ' Next morning , therefore , he went to the market and bought the twelve buffalo hides which he wrapped round his horse . Then he began to fight with the black man , and when the combat had already lasted a long time , and eleven hides were torn , then the stranger hit the negro 's horse between the eyes , so that it fell dead , and the black man was defeated .
Then said the king : ` Because you have solved the three problems I take you XXXXX my son-in-law . '
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