nd rose-colored
clouds, which she could not describe, drifted across it. And more
swiftly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans toward the
setting sun, like a long white veil across the sea. She also swam
towards the sun, but it sank into the waves, and the rosy tints faded
from the clouds and from the sea.

The third sister's turn followed, and she was the boldest of them all,
for she swam up a broad river that emptied into the sea. On the banks
she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines, and palaces and
castles peeping out from amid the proud trees of the forest. She heard
birds singing and felt the rays of the sun so strongly that she was
obliged often to dive under the water to cool her burning face. In a
narrow creek she found a large group of little human children, almost
naked, sporting about in the water. She wanted to play with them, but
they fled in a great fright; and then a little black animal--it was a
dog, but she did not know it, for she had never seen one before--came to
the water and barked at her so furiously that she became frightened and
rushed back to the open sea. But she said she should never forget the
beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty children who could
swim in the water although they had no tails.

The fourth sister was more timid. She remained in the midst of the sea,
but said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land. She could
see many miles around her, and the sky above looked like a bell of
glass. She had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they
looked like sea gulls. The dolphins sported in the waves, and the great
whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred
fountains were playing in every direction.

The fifth sister's birthday occurred in the winter, so when her turn
came she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up.
The sea looked quite green, and large icebergs were floating about, each
like a pearl, she said, but larger and loftier than the churches built
by men. They were of the most singular shapes and glittered like
diamonds. She had seated herself on one of the largest and let the wind
play with her long hair. She noticed that all the ships sailed past very
rapidly, steering as far away as they could, as if they were afraid of
the iceberg. Towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered
the sky, the thunder rolled, and the flashes of lightning glowed red on
the i