faithfulness of my dog and the faithlessness of my
wife. But the third I will try the truth of; and if the hillock contain
gold, then I will believe the rest."

Accordingly he went to the hillock, and having dug it up, found therein
a great treasure of golden ducats, as the merman had told him. After
this the farmer took the merman down to the boat, and to that place in
the sea whence he had brought him. Before he put him in, the latter
said to him:

"Farmer, you have been an honest man, and I will reward you for
restoring me to my mother, if only you have skill enough to take
possession of property that I shall throw in your way. Be happy
and prosper."

Then the farmer put the merman into the sea, and he sank out of sight.

It happened that not long after seven sea-gray cows were seen on the
beach, close to the farmer's land. These cows appeared to be very
unruly, and ran away directly the farmer approached them. So he took a
stick and ran after them, possessed with the fancy that if he could
burst the bladder which he saw on the nose of each of them, they would
belong to him. He contrived to hit the bladder on the nose of one cow,
which then became so tame that he could easily catch it, while the
others leaped into the sea and disappeared.

The farmer was convinced that this was the gift of the merman. And a
very useful gift it was, for better cow was never seen nor milked in all
the land, and she was the mother of the race of gray cows so much
esteemed now.

And the farmer prospered exceedingly, but never caught any more mermen.
As for his wife, nothing further is told about her, so we can
repeat nothing.

THE FISHERMAN OF GOeTUR

It is told that long ago a peasant living at Goetur in Myrdalur went out
fishing round the island of Dyrholar. In returning from the sea, he had
to cross a morass. It happened once that on his way home after
nightfall, he came to a place where a man had lost his horse in the bog,
and was unable to recover it without help. The fisherman, to whom this
man was a stranger, aided him in freeing his horse from the peat.

When the animal stood again safe and sound upon the dry earth, the
stranger said to the fisherman, "I am your neighbor, for I live in
Hvammsgil, and am returning from the sea, like you. But I am so poor
that I cannot pay you for this service as you ought to be paid. I will
promise you, however, this much: that you shall never go to sea without
catching fish, nor ev