e will be forfeited. Would you have me forget?"

"But you will never find the Emerald of the Sea!" cried the Princess.

"Never find the Emerald of the Sea! What do you mean?" said the sailor
anxiously.

"The Emerald of the Sea has disappeared," continued the little Princess,
fixing the sailor with her golden eyes. "Years ago it was stolen from my
father's treasury by a wicked Prince of the Under-Waters. My father
pursued him and overthrew him, but in the struggle the emerald was lost,
and rising to the surface, drifted to the shores of the Land of the
Dawn. There it remained till the Prince of the Unknown Isles purchased
it and took it away in his black ship. This ship, overcome by a storm,
sank; but where it lies we know not, though we have searched far and
wide through the waters. Whosoever finds it shall be master of the land
under the sea, for the emerald is master of us all. My father will not
lift a finger to help you find it; indeed, if he knows that you are in
search of it, he will force you to eat of the bread of the under-waters.
Say nothing, therefore, of your quest."

At these words, the brave sailor's heart sank very low. Mindful of the
Witch's warning, he dared touch no morsel of food, yet he knew that
hunger would soon bring weakness in its train. Either he must find the
emerald at once, or he must abandon all hope of finding it. He could not
live long if he touched no food, and if but one morsel touched his lips
he would forget the upper world.

Far away, the poor merchant, whom the King had now cast in prison,
watched the days pass one by one, and the last year approach its end.
Every morning he would ask for tidings of his sailor son, and ask in
vain.

Now, when the wedding banquet was over, and the ball which followed was
at its height, the eldest of the princesses called her sister, the
bride, aside and said to her:--

"We must rid ourselves at once of this newcomer. Do you not see that he
is the younger brother of our husbands? I beheld him stretch out his
arms to them as they passed. Who can tell but that he may lead them away
from us? Let us tell our servants to lie in wait for him and deliver us
from such a danger."

So said the eldest sister, of the golden eyes. Alas, I fear that the
people of the under-waters are sometimes quite as shocking as those of
the world above.

Later that evening, just as the poor sailor was standing by one of the
great doors, a dozen or so stout rogues