sprouted all over his
body, and she sat on the back of a great bird, which bore her to the
summit of the rock. Here she found a nest made of clay and lined with
dried moss, and in the centre a tiny man, black and wrinkled, who gave a
cry of surprise at the sight of Bellah.

'Ah! you are the pretty girl who was to come and save me!'

'To save you!' repeated Bellah. 'But who are you, my little friend?'

'I am the husband of the Groac'h of the isle of Lok, and it is owing to
her that I am here.'

'But what are you doing in this nest?'

'I am sitting on six eggs of stone, and I shall not be set free till
they are hatched.'

On hearing this Bellah began to laugh.

'Poor little cock!' she said, 'and how am I to deliver you?'

'By delivering Houarn, who is in the power of the Groac'h.'

'Ah! tell me how I can manage that, and if I have to walk round the
whole of Brittany on my bended knees I will do it!'

'Well, first you must dress yourself as a young man, and then go and
seek the Groac'h. When you have found her you must contrive to get hold
of the net of steel that hangs from her waist, and shut her up in it for
ever.'

'But where am I to find a young man's clothes?' asked she.

'I will show you,' he replied, and as he spoke he pulled out three of
his red hairs and blew them away, muttering something the while. In the
twinkling of an eye the four hairs changed into four tailors, of whom
the first carried a cabbage, the second a pair of scissors, the third
a needle, and the fourth an iron. Without waiting for orders, they sat
down in the nest and, crossing their legs comfortably, began to prepare
the suit of clothes for Bellah.

With one of the leaves of the cabbage they made her a coat, and another
served for a waistcoat; but it took two for the wide breeches which were
then in fashion. The hat was cut from the heart of the cabbage, and a
pair of shoes from the thick stem. And when Bellah had put them all on
you would have taken her for a gentleman dressed in green velvet, lined
with white satin.

She thanked the little men gratefully, and after a few more
instructions, jumped on the back of her great bird, and was borne away
to the isle of Lok. Once there, she bade him transform himself back into
a stick, and with it in her hand she stepped into the blue boat, which
conducted her to the palace of shells.

The Groac'h seemed overjoyed to see her, and told her that never before
had she beheld such a handso