For two days he resisted the temptation to go and look , but on the third he could stand it no longer , and taking a torch in his hand he hurried to the tower , and unfastened one lock after the other of the little iron door until it burst open . What an unexpected sight met his gaze ! The Prince perceived a small room black with smoke , lit up feebly by a fire from which issued long blue flames . Over the fire hung a huge cauldron full of boiling pitch , and fastened into the cauldron by iron chains stood a wretched man screaming with agony . Iwanich was much horrified at the sight before him , and asked the man what terrible crime he had committed to be punished in this dreadful fashion . ' I will tell you everything , ' said the man in the cauldron ; ` but first relieve my torments a little , I implore you . ' ` And how can I do that ? ' asked the Prince . ` With a little water , ' replied the man ; ` only sprinkle a few drops over me and I shall feel better . ' The Prince , moved by pity , without thinking what he was doing , ran to the courtyard of the castle , and filled a jug with water , which he poured over the man in the cauldron . In a moment a most fearful crash was heard , as if all the pillars of the palace were giving way , and the palace itself , with towers and doors , windows and the cauldron , whirled round the bewildered Prince 's head . This continued for a few minutes , and then everything vanished into thin air , and Iwanich found himself suddenly alone upon a desolate heath covered with rocks and stones . The Prince , who now realised what his heedlessness had done , cursed too late his spirit of curiosity . In his despair he wandered on over the heath , never looking where he put his feet , and full of sorrowful thoughts . At last he saw a light in the distance , which came from a miserable-looking little hut . The owner of it was none other than the kind-hearted gaunt grey beggar who had given the Prince the bag of bread-crumbs and the hare . Without recognising Iwanich , he opened the door when he knocked and gave him shelter for the night . On the following morning the Prince asked his host if he could get him any work to do , as he was quite unknown in the neighbourhood , and had not enough money to take him home . ` My son , ' replied the old man , ` all this country round here is uninhabited ; I myself have to wander to distant villages for my living , and even then I do not very often find enough to satisfy my hunger . But if you would like to take service with the old witch Corva , go straight up the little stream which flows below my hut for about three hours , and you will come to a sand-hill on the left-hand side ; that is where she lives . '
Iwanich thanked the gaunt grey beggar for his information , and went on his XXXXX .
bag courtyard door man palace pitch smoke son way windows