l the king that there was no longer a suitor for
the hand of his daughter.

The fisherman, stunned by the force of his fall, reached the water
quite senseless. When he came to himself and opened his eyes, he lay
in a boat which at that moment was leaving the mouth of the river and
entering the open sea.

The very old man, to whom he had given the bream, was guiding the
vessel with an oar.

"My good old man, is it you? How did you manage to save me?" asked the
astonished fisherman.

"I came to your assistance," replied the old man, "because he who
shows pity to others deserves their help when in need of it. But take
the oar and row to whatever place you wish."

And having thus spoken the mysterious old man disappeared. The
fisherman crossed himself, and having looked round upon the royal
palace sparkling with light he sighed deeply, and chanting the hymn
"Under Thy Help," put out to sea.

When the sun rose he saw some nets in the boat, and throwing them into
the water caught some pike, which he sold in a town near the shore,
and then continued his journey on foot.

Two or three months later, when crossing some open country, he heard
cries for help which came from a hill near the forest. There he saw
two little demons pulling each other's hair. By the cut of their short
waistcoats, by their tight pantaloons and three-cornered hats, he knew
that they were inhabitants of the nether world, from which they must
have escaped. He had no doubt about it, but being a good Christian he
was not afraid, and accosted them boldly, saying, "Why do you
ill-treat each other in this way? What is the meaning of it?"

"It means, that for many a long year we have both been working hard to
entice a silly fellow down below. He was first tempted by the desire
to learn something of sorcery, and he ended by becoming an
accomplished scoundrel. After giving him time to commit a great many
crimes and thus forfeit his soul, we handed him over to safe keeping.
Now we want to divide his property between us. He has left three
things, which by every right belong to us. The first is a wonderful
carpet. Whoever sits down upon it, and pronounces certain magic words,
will be carried off at once, over forests and under clouds, never
stopping until his destination is reached. The magic words are as
follows:

'Carpet, that of thyself through space takes flight,
O travel, thou airy car, both day and night
Till my desired haven comes in sight.'