, he caught
plenty of fish of all kinds. But when he got home at night and told
his story, how he had got all that fish, his wife fell a-weeping and
moaning, and was beside herself for the promise which her husband had
made, for she said, "I bear a babe under my girdle."

Well, the story soon spread, and came up to the castle; and when the
_King_ heard the woman's grief and its cause, he sent down to say he
would take care of the child, and see if he couldn't save it.

So the months went on and on, and when her time came the fisher's wife
had a boy; so the king took it at once, and brought it up as his own
son, until the lad grew up. Then he begged leave one day to go out
fishing with his father; he had such a mind to go, he said. At first
the _King_ wouldn't hear of it, but at last the lad had his way, and
went. So he and his father were out the whole day, and all went right
and well till they landed at night. Then the lad remembered he had
left his handkerchief, and went to look for it; but as soon as ever he
got into the boat, it began to move off with him at such speed that
the water roared under the bow, and all the lad could do in rowing
against it with the oars was no use; so he went and went the whole
night, and at last he came to a white strand, far far away.

There he went ashore, and when he had walked about a bit, an old, old
man met him, with a long white beard.

"What's the name of this land?" asked the lad.

"Whiteland," said the man, who went on to ask the lad whence he came,
and what he was going to do. So the lad told him all.

[Illustration: "You'll come to three Princesses, whom you will see
standing in the earth up to their necks, with only their heads out."]

"Aye, aye!" said the man; "now when you have walked a little farther
along the strand here, you'll come to three _Princesses_, whom you
will see standing in the earth up to their necks, with only their
heads out. Then the first--she is the eldest--will call out and beg
you so prettily to come and help her; and the second will do the same;
to neither of these shall you go; make haste past them, as if you
neither saw nor heard anything. But the third you shall go to, and do
what she asks. If you do this, you'll have good luck--that's all."

When the lad came to the first _Princess_, she called out to him, and
begged him so prettily to come to her, but he passed on as though he
saw her not. In the same way he passed by the second; but to