p. 75) in which a "field-devil"
exacts from a farmer the promise of a child--the
Wallachian stories (Schott, Nos. 2 and 15) in which a
devil obtains a like promise from a woodcutter and a
fisherman--the Modern Greek (Hahn, Nos. 4, 5, 54, and
68) in which a child is promised to a Dervish, a
_Drakos_, the Devil, and a Demon--and the Gaelic tales
of "The Battle of the Birds" and "The Sea-maiden,"
(Campbell, Nos. 2 and 4) in the former of which the
child is promised to a Giant, in the latter to a
Mermaid. The likeness between the Russian story and
the "Battle of the Birds" is very striking. References
to a great many other similar tales will be found in
Grimm (_KM._ iii. pp. 96-7, and 168-9). The group to
which all these stories belong is linked with a set of
tales about a father who apprentices his son to a
wizard, sometimes to the Devil, from whom the youth
escapes with great difficulty. The principal Russian
representative of the second set is called "Eerie
Art," "Khitraya Nauka," (Afanasief, v. No. 22, vi. No.
45, viii. p. 339).

To the hero's adventures while with the Water King,
and while escaping from him, an important parallel is
offered by the end of the already mentioned (at p. 92)
Indian story of Sringabhuja. That prince asks
Agnisikha, the Rakshasa whom, in his crane-form, he
has wounded, to bestow upon him the hand of his
daughter--the maiden who had met him on his arrival at
the Rakshasa's palace. The demon pretends to consent,
but only on condition that the prince is able to pick
out his love from among her numerous sisters. This
Sringabhuja is able to do in spite of all the demon's
daughters being exactly alike, as she has told him
beforehand she will wear her pearls on her brow
instead of round her neck. Her father will not remark
the change, she says, for being of the demon race, he
is not very sharp witted. The Rakshasa next sets the
prince two of the usual tasks. He is to plough a great
field, and sow a hundred bushels of corn. When this,
by the daughter's help, is done, he is told to gather
up the seed again. This also the demon's daughter does
for him, sending to his aid a countless swarm of ants.
Lastly he is commanded to visit the demon's brother