he returned to his palace.
In his absence a son had been born to him, and so great was his joy that
he quite forgot the mermaid and the price he had paid for the safety of
his ship. But as the years went on, and the baby grew into a fine big
boy, the remembrance of it came back, and one day he told the queen
the whole story. From that moment the happiness of both their lives was
ruined. Every night they went to bed wondering if they should find his
room empty in the morning, and every day they kept him by their sides,
expecting him to be snatched away before their very eyes.

At last the king felt that this state of things could not continue, and
he said to his wife:

'After all, the most foolish thing in the world one can do is to keep
the boy here in exactly the place in which the mermaid will seek him.
Let us give him food and send him on his travels, and perhaps, if the
mermaid ever blocs come to seek him, she may be content with some other
child.' And the queen agreed that his plan seemed the wisest.

So the boy was called, and his father told him the story of the voyage,
as he had told his mother before him. The prince listened eagerly, and
was delighted to think that he was to go away all by himself to see
the world, and was not in the least frightened; for though he was now
sixteen, he had scarcely been allowed to walk alone beyond the palace
gardens. He began busily to make his preparations, and took off his
smart velvet coat, putting on instead one of green cloth, while he
refused a beautiful bag which the queen offered him to hold his food,
and slung a leather knapsack over his shoulders instead, just as he had
seen other travellers do. Then he bade farewell to his parents and went
his way.

All through the day he walked, watching with interest the strange birds
and animals that darted across his path in the forest or peeped at him
from behind a bush. But as evening drew on he became tired, and looked
about as he walked for some place where he could sleep. At length he
reached a soft mossy bank under a tree, and was just about to stretch
himself out on it, when a fearful roar made him start and tremble all
over. In another moment something passed swiftly through the air and a
lion stood before him.

'What are you doing here?' asked the lion, his eyes glaring fiercely at
the boy.

'I am flying from the mermaid,' the prince answered, in a quaking voice.

'Give me some food then,' said the lion, 'it is p