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 “You’ve done this well,” he said. “Tomorrow I’ll give you your second task.”

The next day when Yirik presented himself, the king said:

“While my daughter, Zlatovlaska, was bathing in the sea, a golden ring slipped from her finger and disappeared. Your task is to find me this ring before sundown.”

Yirik went down to the seashore and as he walked along the beach his heart grew heavy as he realized the difficulty of the task before him. The sea was clear but so deep that he couldn’t even see the bottom. How then could he find the ring?

“Oh dear,” he said aloud, “if only the golden fish were here! It could help me.”

“I am here,” a voice said, “and I’m here to help you.”

And there was the golden fish on the crest of a wave, gleaming like a flash of fire!

“What do you want me to do?” it said.

“Find me a golden ring that lies somewhere on the bottom of the sea.”

“Ah, a golden ring? A moment ago I met a pike,” the fish said, “that had just such a golden ring. Wait for me here and I’ll go find the pike.”