In a short time the first smith asks again, "What are they doing now?"
"I think," said the watcher, "they are flying; for it seems to me that they are now farther off than they were a while ago."
At this the first smith rushed out of the forge—a huge, burly giant—holding, in the tongs which he grasped in his right hand, a vast mass of iron sparkling and glowing from the furnace; and, running down to the shore with long, heavy strides, he flung the red-hot mass with all his might after the curragh. It fell a little short, and plunged down just near the prow, causing the whole sea to hiss and boil and heave up around the boat. But they plied their oars, so that they quickly got beyond his reach, and sailed out into the open ocean.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE CRYSTAL SEA.
After a time, they came to a sea like green crystal. It was so calm and transparent that they could see the sand at the bottom quite clearly, sparkling in the sunlight. And in this sea they saw neither monsters, nor ugly animals, nor rough rocks; nothing but the clear water and the sunshine and the bright sand. For a whole day they sailed over it, admiring its splendour and beauty.
CHAPTER XXIII.
A LOVELY COUNTRY BENEATH THE WAVES.