asked if there was anything she was
able to do, so that her mother might rest a little.

The good woman looked so surprised and grateful for this offer that the
girl felt rather ashamed, and at that moment would have scrubbed down
the house if she had been requested; but her mother only begged her to
take the fishing-net out to the bank of the river and mend some holes in
it, as her father intended to go fishing that night.

The girl took the net and worked so hard that soon there was not a hole
to be found. She felt quite pleased with herself, though she had had
plenty to amuse her, as everybody who passed by had stopped and had a
chat with her. But by this time the sun was high overhead, and she was
just folding her net to carry it home again, when she heard a splash
behind her, and looking round she saw a big fish jump into the air.
Seizing the net with both hands, she flung it into the water where the
circles were spreading one behind the other, and, more by luck than
skill, drew out the fish.

'Well, you are a beauty!' she cried to herself; but the fish looked up
to her and said:

'You had better not kill me, for, if you do, I will turn you into a fish
yourself!'

The girl laughed contemptuously, and ran straight in to her mother.

'Look what I have caught,' she said gaily; 'but it is almost a pity to
eat it, for it can talk, and it declares that, if I kill it, it will
turn me into a fish too.'

'Oh, put it back, put it back!' implored the mother. 'Perhaps it
is skilled in magic. And I should die, and so would your father, if
anything should happen to you.'

'Oh, nonsense, mother; what power could a creature like that have over
me? Besides, I am hungry, and if I don't have my dinner soon, I shall be
cross.' And off she went to gather some flowers to stick in her hair.

About an hour later the blowing of a horn told her that dinner was
ready.

'Didn't I say that fish would be delicious?' she cried; and plunging her
spoon into the dish the girl helped herself to a large piece. But the
instant it touched her mouth a cold shiver ran through her. Her head
seemed to flatten, and her eyes to look oddly round the corners; her
legs and her arms were stuck to her sides, and she gasped wildly for
breath. With a mighty bound she sprang through the window and fell into
the river, where she soon felt better, and was able to swim to the sea,
which was close by.

No sooner had she arrived there than the sight of her