you arrive at the dwelling of my father—the King of the Sea—I may prove of great use to you."
The prince gave her back her things; she immediately changed into a spoon-bill and flew away after her sisters.
The prince walked on and on, until he met the three great heroes—Eat-All, Drink-All, and Chill-All. He stopped them, and asked them to accompany him to the dwelling of the King of the Sea.
When they arrived at the wonderful palace, the King of the Sea saw the young prince and exclaimed, "How are you, my friend? So you have come at last. Why did you not visit me sooner? I grew quite tired of waiting for you; but now that you are here, you must work. The first thing you must do is this: you must build a crystal bridge over the sea in one night, so that it may be quite ready by the morning. If not—your head shall be cut off!"
The young prince left the presence of the Sea King, and began to weep. Just then Melania the Clever threw open her window, and asked,—
"Why do you weep, my prince?"
"Ah, Melania the Clever! how can I help it? Your father has ordered me to build a crystal bridge over the sea in one night, and I don't even know how to handle tools."
"Never mind! Go to bed and sleep; morning is wiser than the evening!"[1]
The young prince took her advice and went to bed, while Melania herself came out of her little chamber, changed into a spoon-bill, and began whistling like a
- ↑ A Russian proverb.
