"I will return with the sword fast enough," replied the prince. He instructed his servants to wait for him at the border of the woods, while he went on alone. Inside the thick wood lived all manner of wild beasts. The trees seemed to take strange shapes. The young prince ran over sharp stones and through bramble bushes. He was startled by a strange noise behind him and it made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Turning around, he saw a frightful hobgoblin. The youth ducked into the hollow trunk of a great tree, and there he crouched until the monster passed.