s and follow me."

He began to walk in front of the fisherman, who followed him with some
misgivings. They passed in front of the town, and went up a mountain
and then down into a great plain, where there was a large lake lying
between four hills.

When they reached the lake the genius said to the fisherman, "Throw
your nets and catch fish."

The fisherman did as he was told, hoping for a good catch, as he saw
plenty of fish. What was his astonishment at seeing that there were
four quite different kinds, some white, some red, some blue, and some
yellow. He caught four, one of each colour. As he had never seen any
like them he admired them very much, and he was very pleased to think
how much money he would get for them.

"Take these fish and carry them to the Sultan, who will give you more
money for them than you have ever had in your life. You can come every
day to fish in this lake, but be careful not to throw your nets more
than once every day, otherwise some harm will happen to you. If you
follow my advice carefully you will find it good."

Saying these words, he struck his foot against the ground, which
opened, and when he had disappeared, it closed immediately.

The fisherman resolved to obey the genius exactly, so he did not cast
his nets a second time, but walked into the town to sell his fish at
the palace.

When the Sultan saw the fish he was much astonished. He looked at them
one after the other, and when he had admired them long enough, "Take
these fish," he said to his first vizir, "and given them to the clever
cook the Emperor of the Greeks sent me. I think they must be as good
as they are beautiful."

The vizir took them himself to the cook, saying, "Here are four fish
that have been brought to the Sultan. He wants you to cook them."

Then he went back to the Sultan, who told him to give the fisherman
four hundred gold pieces. The fisherman, who had never before
possessed such a large sum of money at once, could hardly believe his
good fortune. He at once relieved the needs of his family, and made
good use of it.

But now we must return to the kitchen, which we shall find in great
confusion. The cook, when she had cleaned the fish, put them in a pan
with some oil to fry them. When she thought them cooked enough on one
side she turned them on the other. But scarcely had she done so when
the walls of the kitchen opened, and there came out a young and
beautiful damsel. She was dres