and if a wanderer gets in among them, the good ones will
always help him more than the evil ones will be able to hurt him.

The sun was now set, and the darkness coming on, but the child thought
of no danger but the bears behind her. If she had looked round,
however, she would have seen that she was followed by a very different
creature from a bear. It was a curious creature, made like a fish, but
covered, instead of scales, with feathers of all colours, sparkling
like those of a humming-bird. It had fins, not wings, and swam through
the air as a fish does through the water. Its head was like the head of
a small owl.

After running a long way, and as the last of the light was
disappearing, she passed under a tree with drooping branches. It
dropped its branches to the ground all about her, and caught her as in
a trap. She struggled to get out, but the branches pressed her closer
and closer to the trunk. She was in great terror and distress, when the
air-fish, swimming into the thicket of branches, began tearing them
with its beak. They loosened their hold at once, and the creature went
on attacking them, till at length they let the child go. Then the
air-fish came from behind her, and swam on in front, glittering and
sparkling all lovely colours; and she followed.

It led her gently along till all at once it swam in at a cottage-door.
The child followed still. There was a bright fire in the middle of the
floor, upon which stood a pot without a lid, full of water that boiled
and bubbled furiously. The air-fish swam straight to the pot and into
the boiling water, where it lay quiet. A beautiful woman rose from the
opposite side of the fire and came to meet the girl. She took her up in
her arms, and said,--

"Ah, you are come at last! I have been looking for you a long time."

She sat down with her on her lap, and there the girl sat staring at
her. She had never seen anything so beautiful. She was tall and strong,
with white arms and neck, and a delicate flush on her face. The child
could not tell what was the colour of her hair, but could not help
thinking it had a tinge of dark green. She had not one ornament upon
her, but she looked as if she had just put off quantities of diamonds
and emeralds. Yet here she was in the simplest, poorest little cottage,
where she was evidently at home. She was dressed in shining green.

The girl looked at the lady, and the lady looked at the girl.

"What is your name?" asked the l