husbands at one time, I shall not marry any of you!" The maiden shut herself up in a tower; and the three princes, much disappointed and grieved, also retired into a dismal tower.
XXIV.—The Maiden and the Fish.
Once there was a widower who had three daughters. The two eldest thought of nothing but dress and finery, and going to amusements, or sitting at the window doing nothing; whilst the youngest occupied herself with the household management, and was fond of assisting the servant in the kitchen, and for which reason her sisters called her the "Hearth-Cat." One day the father caught a fish and brought it home alive, and as the youngest daughter was the one who occupied herself in cooking, and was besides his favourite child, he gave her the fish to prepare for their supper. As the fish was alive, and she took a great liking to it on account of its pretty yellow colour, she placed it in a large pan with water, and begged her father to allow her to keep it for herself, and not kill it. As soon as the father consented to her keeping it, she at once took it to her own room and gave it plenty of water to swim in; and when the sisters saw what had been done with the fish they began to cry out and complain that, for the sake of pleasing the "Hearth-Cat," they were to be deprived of eating that excellent fish.
At night, when the little maiden had already laid herself down to sleep, the fish began to say to her, "Oh! maiden, throw me into the well! Oh! maiden, throw me into the well!" The fish repeated this so often and so imploringly that at length she rose and threw the fish into the well. The following day she took a walk in the garden to try and see the fish, as she quite yearned to have a look at it once more; and as she drew close to
