Atondido Stories
Soon the King of Fishes arrived, accompanied by all his reti-
nue. He came into the palace in a very bad temper, giving kicks
and blows to everything which came in his way, and saying in a
fierce, savage voice, “Lee, lo w , lee, leer, I smell the blood of a hu-
man, here. I smell the blood of a human, here.”
It took much persuasion on the part of the queen to get him
to take a bath. After his bath he appeared in the form of a hand-
some man. He then ate his dinner, and when he had nearly fin-
ished the meal his wife said to him, “If you should see my broth-
er here what would you do to him?”
“I would be kind to him, of course, just as I am to you,” re-
sponded the King of the Fishes. “If he is here let him appear.”
The young man then took off the magic cap by which he had
hidden himself. The king treated him most kindly and courte-
ously. He invited him to live for the rest of his life in the palace.
The young man declined the invitation, saying that he had two
other sisters to visit. He took his departure soon, and when he
went away his brother-in-law gave him a scale with these words:
“If you are ever in any danger in which I can help you, take this
scale and say, ‘Help me, O King of the Fishes.’”
The young man put the scale in his saddle bag. Then he took
out his magic boot and said, “O Boot, put me in the home of my
second sister.” He found his second sister queen of even a more
wonderful palace than his eldest sister. Her husband was King
of Rams and treated the newly found brother of his queen with
great consideration. When the young man had finished his visit
there the King of Rams gave him a piece of wool saying, “If you
are ever in any peril in which I can help you pull this wool and
ask help of the King of Rams.”
With the aid of his magic boot the young man went to visit
the home of his youngest sister. He found her in the most
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