“You should not have hidden this thing from me, but as you are guilty of having done so I doom you to find the Princess Golden Bell, whom I desire shall become my wife. If you fail I shall put you to death.”
N’Oun Doare left the royal presence in a very perturbed state of mind. He went to seek his old mare with tears in his eyes.
“I know,” said the mare, “the cause of your sorrow. You should have left the golden crown alone, as I told you. But do not repine; go to the King and ask him for money for your journey.”
The lad received the money from the King, and set out on his journey. Arriving at the seashore, one of the first objects he beheld was a little fish cast up by the waves on the beach and almost at its last gasp.
“Throw that fish back into the water,” said the mare. N’Oun Doare did so, and the fish, lifting its head from the water, said:
“You have saved my life, N’Oun Doare. I am the King of the Fishes, and if ever you require my help call my name by the seashore and I will come.” With these words the Fish-King vanished beneath the water.
A little later they came upon a bird struggling vainly to escape from a net in which it was caught.
“Cut the net and set that poor bird free,” said the wise mare.
Upon N’Oun Doare doing so the bird paused before it flew away and said: