ng, and, starting up,
he looked at the lake, but its waters were as bright as they had been
the day before.

Towards midday he beheld what he thought was a black cloud sailing
across the sky from east to west. It seemed to grow larger as it came
nearer and nearer, and when it was high above the lake he saw it was a
huge bird, the shadow of whose outstretched wings darkened the waters
of the lake; and the dwarf knew it was one of the Cormorants of the
Western Seas. As it descended slowly, he saw that it held in one of
its claws a branch of a tree larger than a full-grown oak, and laden
with clusters of ripe red berries. It alighted at some distance from
the dwarf, and, after resting for a time, it began to eat the berries
and to throw the stones into the lake, and wherever a stone fell a
bright red stain appeared in the water. As he looked more closely at
the bird the dwarf saw that it had all the signs of old age, and he
could not help wondering how it was able to carry such a heavy tree.

Later in the day, two other birds, as large as the first, but younger,
came up from the west and settled down beside him. They also ate the
berries, and throwing the stones into the lake it was soon as red as
wine.

When they had eaten all the berries, the young birds began to pick the
decayed feathers off the old bird and to smooth his plumage. As soon
as they had completed their task, he rose slowly from the hill and
sailed out over the lake, and dropping down on the waters, dived
beneath them. In a moment he came to the surface, and shot up into the
air with a joyous cry, and flew off to the west in all the vigour of
renewed youth, followed by the other birds.

When they had gone so far that they were like specks in the sky, the
dwarf mounted his horse and descended towards the lake.

He was almost at the margin, and in another minute would have plunged
in, when he heard a fierce screaming in the air, and before he had
time to look up, the three birds were hovering over the lake.

The dwarf drew back frightened.

The birds wheeled over his head, and then, swooping down, they flew
close to the water, covering it with their wings, and uttering harsh
cries.

Then, rising to a great height, they folded their wings and dropped
headlong, like three rocks, on the lake, crashing its surface, and
scattering a wine-red shower upon the hills.[1]

Then the dwarf remembered what the fairy told him, that if he
attempted to swim the l