After they had taken leave of one another the boy mounted the horse， and in the twinkling of an eye he was at the Emperor’s Court。As he passed the tower the Princess saw him， and begged of him to give her the crown， which he did。Then， going to the Emperor， he handed the horse over to him。
When the Emperor saw him he rejoiced very much， and， keeping him nearer to himself， loved him even more than before。
In the Emperor’s stables there was now one horse more， and this required more care and attention than all the others put together。So the gipsy had not scored very much by his plot。He had only given himself more trouble and worry， and the boy was now in greater favour than ever。There was no one in the Emperor’s Court more beloved than this young lad。
The gipsy ate out his heart with anger。Day and night he thought only of how to injure the poor boy， but did not know what to do to get rid of him。At last he hit upon a plan。It seemed to him even better than the one before。
One day when the Emperor again walked by the stables the gipsy said：“Illustrious Emperor， do you know what that boy has again been boasting to me？”
“What is it this time， gipsy？”
“He boasted to me that if it be the wish of your Majesty he would bring the Zmeu’s saddle；”for the gipsy thought， this he would never be able to do。After having lost his horse， the Zmeu would take special care that no one should get near the saddle。It was a marvellous saddle， for it would carry whoever sat on it through the air to whatever place he wished。
The Emperor again believed the gipsy。When he came back to the palace he called the young boy and said to him：
“The gipsy has disclosed to me your secret boast that， if I wish， you could bring me the Zmeu’s saddle。”
The boy denied it， and swore that such an idea had never entered his mind， and still less had he ever boasted of such a thing to the gipsy。But the Emperor would not listen， and said to him again in a stern voice that unless he brought that saddle his head would soon be where the soles of his feet were standing。
What was the poor boy to do？ He left the Court and went to the forest， and， sitting down on the same tree trunk， he said again， weeping：“Woe unto me， for this time I am done for。The Knight of the Flowers is not likely to come again and help me， for he has already helped me once。”But as soon as he thought of him， lo！ There was the Knight standing before him， and he said，“Why are you weeping， my dear boy？”
“How can I help weeping， seeing that the Emperor asks me now to bring also the saddle of the Zmeu’s horse？”
“Do not fear，”replied the Knight，“I will help you again。I have not forgotten the kindness you showed me by setting me free， and I knew then the troubles through which you would have to pass for my sake， so I will save you from all these troubles。”And， just as the first time， he took the boy to the Daughters of the Sun and he himself went to the Zmeu to steal from him the horse’s saddle， and in the same way in which he had stolen the horse he succeeded in deceiving the Dragon and stealing the saddle。
He came back with it to the Daughters of the Sun， and gave it to the young boy to carry to the Emperor； and they also gave him this time another crown， more beautiful than the first， with the moon in the centre and the two stars， the evening and morning stars， on each side of it， and the remainder adorned with other stars， and told him to give it to the Princess when he passed by her tower if she should beg it of him。
As soon as he had mounted the saddle he found himself at the King’s Court， and when he passed over the tower where the Princess was living， she saw that crown and begged of him to give it to her。He did so willingly， as he was ordered by the Daughters of the Sun。
He then entered the palace and handed over the saddle to the Emperor。The Emperor was full of joy at obtaining that wonderful treasure， and he loved the boy still more， and kept him near his person。
But the gipsy was almost bursting with hatred and fury when he saw this fresh success。He spent all his time thinking of how to get the boy into still greater trouble， for he could not endure his own growing hardship on the one hand and the happiness and wellbeing of the boy on the other。So at last he thought he would tell the Emperor that the boy had boasted he would bring the Zmeu himself。He knew very well， or so he believed， that from such an undertaking the boy would never return， for no human being could capture a Zmeu and chain him。This was quite a different matter from getting a horse away or stealing a saddle， tasks which so far he had been able to accomplish。
One day， therefore， when the Emperor was again passing along the stables to see the horses， the gipsy came out to meet him， and after greeting him and making obeisance， said：“Illustrious Emperor， you cannot imagine the boastfulness of that boy； he has come to me and told me that if your Majesty wished it he would bring even the Zmeu as a prisoner and in chains。”
The Emperor again believed the word of the gipsy， especially when he thought，“Once the Zmeu is captured and enchained， there will no longer be any need to keep my daughter under lock and key， and always in fear of losing her。On the contrary， she would then go about free and live a life as other women。”
So he called the lad， and said to him，“Go and bring me the Zmeu， for， if you do not， you know what the punishment will be。”
In vain did the boy protest his innocence， and that the gipsy had been telling lies， but it did not help him， and he had to obey the Emperor’s orders。He sighed and wept， and said to himself：“On those two former occasions I escaped， but now nothing else is left to me but to die。This task is utterly impossible。”And， sad at heart， he once more took his way to the forest。
Arriving there， he again sat down on the trunk of that tree to rest awhile， and began to think of the Knight of the Flowers。No sooner had he thought of him than， lo！ there he stood， and said，“Why art thou crying， my dear boy？”
“How can I help crying， for the Emperor now asks me to bring him the Zmeu as a prisoner， and， if I do not， where the soles of my feet are standing， there my head will be rolling。”
When the Knight of the Flowers heard this， he said：“Hm！ This is a very heavy task which they have given thee。But we may be able to carry it out。”So again he took the boy to the Daughters of the Sun， and asked them to keep him until he returned。He then went to the forest close to the habitation of the Zmeu。There， turning a somersault three times， he became a very， very old man and very， very small， like a dwarf， with a big axe in his hand。With this axe he struck now at one tree and now at another， and the echo was heard through the whole forest。
When the Zmeu heard the noise he went to see what was the cause of it。He found the old man， and he asked him what he was doing in that wilderness。“I am striking at these trees to find out which is the hardest， for I wish to make a barrel strong enough to keep in it the Knight of the Flowers， who has done great mischief to me。I wish to catch him and imprison him in it。”
The Zmeu replied：“That is an excellent thing。I also feel very angry with him， for he has done me a great deal of harm； he has robbed me of my horse and saddle， but I do not know what I can do against him。I wish I could catch him to settle my account with him。But as I see you are a cooper and intent on making a barrel to catch him and imprison him， I will help you as much as I can。You come with me， and I will give you staves of hard wood and iron hoops to make the strong barrel strong enough to keep him in。”The old mannikin on hearing these words was very much delighted， for it made his work so much easier。He went home with the Zmeu and made the barrel with strong staves， fastened the bottom， then put the iron hoops close to one another。When he had finished that part of the work， he said to the Zmeu：“I do not know whether this barrel is strong enough to keep the Knight in， for you know he is mightily strong， and I doubt whether the barrel would be strong enough to hold him， for he would lift himself up in it to the clouds and drop down again to earth， and the barrel would then fall to pieces。I also must make sure that it is tight， so tight that no ray of light can pass through the crevices， otherwise he might creep out through them。How would it be， then， if you get into this barrel， for you are stronger still than the Knight of the Flowers， and your eyes are stronger than mine。I will close up the other end， and then you can see in the dark whether there is any rift between the staves， and then you can rise up in it to the clouds and drop down， and we shall see whether any of these hoops will snap asunder。”The Zmeu was quite content to do what the old man asked him， and he crept into the barrel， and the old man closed up the other end。Then he asked the Zmeu whether he saw any light。The Zmeu answered him that between certain staves there was some light。The old man filled up the openings， and then he asked the Zmeu again whether he could see any light between the staves， and the Zmeu replied，“No， it is quite all right。”After that he told the Zmeu to lift himself up so as to rise into the height of heaven， and to drop down with all his strength to the ground。The Zmeu did as he was asked。He rose up to such a height that he came down at the end of the following day， and five hoops snapped。
The old man put on five stronger hoops， and， after asking the Zmeu whether he could see any light and hearing from him that no light penetrated into the barrel， he told the Zmeu to rise again and to drop down again。The Zmeu did as he was told， and he came down at the end of the third day， when two hoops snapped。
The old man replaced them by two other iron hoops much stronger than those used before。
He then told him to jump again。The Zmeu did as he was bidden， rose to such a height that he did not come down before the end of a whole week， and not a single hoop snapped。The old man asked him whether he could see any light， and the Zmeu replied“No，”and asked him to open the barrel and let him come out。To this the old man replied：“You had better remain where you are。This is the best thing for you， for I am the Knight of the Flowers。”
The Zmeu was stunned when he found out how stupid he had been， and that he had been fooled and trapped by his captor。
The Knight of the Flowers took the barrel on his back and flew with it to the Daughters of the Sun， where he handed it over to the youth。The Daughters of the Sun had meanwhile prepared another crown， much more beautiful than the others， for in this one the sun was on the top， the moon in the centre， the morning and evening stars right and left， and other stars round about all over the crown。They told him to give it also to the Princess when he passed over her tower， but only if she begged him for it。The youth thanked the Daughters of the Sun for all the kindness they had shown him， and the Knight of the Flowers for the help he had given him， and， taking the Zmeu on his back， he found himself at once near the Emperor’s Court。
