nd took it home. Here it
became the playmate of the children, whom it seemed to love very much.
They named it Blue-eyes. It would play with them from morning till
night, would lick their hands, and call them with a gentle little cry,
not unlike the human voice in its tone.

"It would look at them tenderly with its large blue eyes, shaded by long
black lashes. It was very fond of music. It would follow its master to
fish, swimming around the boat, and taking a great many fish, which it
would give up without even biting them. No dog could have been more
faithful, or more quick to learn what was wanted.

"But the fisherman's half-sister was a silly old woman. She had come to
help nurse his wife, who was ill. This half-sister took it into her head
that the poor seal would bring bad luck to the family. She told her
brother that he must get rid of it.

[Illustration]

"Weary of her teasing, he at last took the poor seal, rowed with it out
into the open sea, and there, more than seven miles from the shore,
threw it into the water, and then hurried home as fast as sails would
carry him.

"But, when he entered his cottage, the first thing he saw was the
faithful seal lying close beside the cradle of one of his children. As
soon as it saw its master, it showed great joy, and tried to caress
him. But he took the seal and gave it away to a sailor, who was going on
a long voyage. Two weeks afterward, as the fisherman came back from his
boat, he saw the seal at play with the children.

"'If you do not kill that seal, I will kill it myself,' said the old
aunt. The children began to cry. 'No, no, you shall not kill it!' cried
Hans with flashing eyes. 'You shall kill me first,' cried little Jane.
'You have no right to kill it,' cried Mary, the eldest girl.

"'Am I to be ruled by these children?' said the silly aunt, turning to
her brother.

"'The seal shall live,' said he: 'the children shall have their way.
Your notion that the poor seal brings bad luck is a very silly notion.
You ought to be ashamed of it.'

"'Hurrah!' cried Hans. 'Blue-eyes, the vote is taken: you are to live,
and all this nonsense about your bringing bad luck is blown away.'

"The seal began to flop about as if in great joy.

"'I shall leave the house at once,' said the silly aunt.

"'Do as you please,' said the fisherman.

"And so it turned out, that the only ill luck brought to the family by
the seal was the departure of the cross and silly old aun