ea. Nearer they came,
till it seemed to be a great white bird, brooding on the calmed water;
and its wings were stretched high and wide, yet it stirred not. And
the wings had in themselves no motion, but stood rigidly poised over
their own reflection in the water.

Then the birds came curiously, dropping from their straight course, to
wonder at the white wings that went not on. And they came and settled
about this great, bird-like thing, so still and so grand.

Onto the deck crept a small child, for the noise of the birds had come
down to him in the hold. 'There is nobody at home but me,' he said;
for he thought the birds must have come to call, and he wished to be
polite. 'They are all gone but me,' he went on, 'all gone. I am left
alone.'

The birds, none of them understood him; but they put their heads
on one side and looked down on him in a friendly way, seeming to
consider.

He ran down below and fetched up a pannikin of water and some biscuit.
He set the water down, and breaking the biscuit sprinkled it over the
white deck. Then he clapped his hands to see them all flutter and
crowd round him, dipping their bright heads to the food and drink he
gave them.

They might not stay long, for the waterlogged ship could not help
them on the way they wished to go; and by sunset they must touch land
again. Away they went, on a sudden, the whole crew of them, and the
sound of their voices became faint in the bright sea-air.

'I am left alone!' said the child.

Many days ago, while he was asleep in a snug corner he had found for
himself, the captain and crew had taken to the boats, leaving the
great ship to its fate. And forgetting him because he was so small, or
thinking that he was safe in some one of the other boats, the rough
sailors had gone off without him, and he was left alone. So for a
whole week he had stayed with the ship, like a whisper of its vanished
life amid the blues of a deep calm. And the birds came to the ship
only to desert it again quickly, because it stood so still upon the
sea.

But that night the mermen came round the vessel's side, and sang; and
the wind rose to their singing, and the sea grew rough. Yet the child
slept with his head in dreams. The dreams came from the mermen's
songs, and he held his breath, and his heart stayed burdened by the
deep sweetness of what he saw.

Dark and strange and cold the sea-valleys opened before him; blue
sea-beasts ranged there, guarded by strong-finn