Page:Jewish Fairy Book (Gerald Friedlander).djvu/169

 XVI THE REBELLIOUS WATERS

N the third day of the week of creation the mighty waters covered the face of all the earth. Then the Holy One commanded the waters to be gathered together so that the dry land might appear. The prince of the sea forced back the rolling waves, whereupon the mountains and hills scattered over the surface of all the earth rose beneath the blue sky. Now the prince of the sea brought the waters into the deep oceans. When the waters saw this they became proud and attempted once again to cover the face of the earth. The prince of the sea rebuked them and warned them not to disobey the great Creator. They refused to listen and were about to submerge the earth when the Holy One blamed them for being disobedient. He at once subdued them and placed them beneath the level of the earth. In order to restrain the sea He put the sand as their boundary. Whenever the water is tempted to rebel and to pass over its bounds, it sees the sand and returns to its proper place.

When the sea saw the sand for the first time it said: &quot;What need have I to be afraid of the sand? 145