Page:The Allies Fairy Book.djvu/131

 end of the world, for I shall always be faithful to my wish to marry you!” “Well, I will marry you,” she said, “if you will tell me why it is that you can never die.”

Then the old man burst into peals of laughter. “Ah, ah, ah! You are thinking how you would be able to kill me? Well, to do that you would have to find an iron casket which lies at the bottom of the sea, and has a white dove inside, and then you would have to find the egg which the dove laid, and bring it here, and dash it against my head.” And he laughed again in his certainty that no one had ever got down to the bottom of the sea, and that if they did, they would never find the casket, or be able to open it. When he could speak once more, he said: “Now you will be obliged to marry me, as you know my secret. But she begged so hard that the wedding might be put off for three days that he consented, and went away rejoicing at his victory. When he had disappeared, the brother took off the cap which had kept him invisible all this time, and told his sister not to lose heart as he hoped in three days she would be free. Then he drew on his boots, and wished himself at the seashore, and there he was directly. Drawing out the fish-scale, he cried: “Come and help me, King of the Fishes!” and his brother-in-law swam up, and asked what he could do. The young man related the story, and when he had finished his listener summoned all the fishes to his presence. The last to arrive was a little sardine, who apologized for being so late, but said she had hurt herself by knocking her head against an iron casket that lay at the bottom of the sea. The king ordered several of the largest and strongest of his subjects to take the little sardine as a guide, and bring him the iron casket. They soon returned with the box placed across their backs and laid it down before him. Then the youth produced the key and said, “Key, open that box!” and the key opened it, and though they were all