Page:Tales of old Lusitania.djvu/131

Rh The fisherman's son left the palace well satisfied with the reception he had met with; and happy to have found his sister happy, and that she was living in such a delightful, fairylike place.

He once more put on his magic boots, saying, "Boots, take me to my second sister's home."

Hardly were the words out of his mouth, when, quick as thought, he crossed over great mountains, passed by the brinks of fearful precipices, and at last the boots deposited him on a bare rock. Looking down below he saw a lovely bay, whose waters were as transparent and smooth as crystal, in the midst of which rose an island surrounded on every side by steep cliffs. There was no visible harbour or beach, so that no mortal could land, unless helped by some sorcerer or magician. But the boots made no difficulty of the matter, they placed their wearer on the middle of the island, in a narrow pathway. He followed this path, which led him to a vast cavern, having three arched openings. There was a monotonous sort of organ music echoing through the cavern, which seemed to come from the tranquil bay. He entered one of the openings, and the first chamber that met his gaze was panelled with millions of yellow and scarlet sponges, among which were anemones of the rarest and richest kind—green, blue, dark brown, white, and scarlet were the prevailing colours. The young man was dazzled, and