be the son of a duke and go home;" the fish whispered. "Follow me. I
will light the way for you. It is lucky that you have run about so much
and are so thin, otherwise you might stick fast on the way. Now pay
attention. This pool drains itself, through a passage under the
mountain, into the lake. I shall swim in front of you until we come to
the big basin into which the springs of these mountains empty their
waters. After that I must keep to the right, in order to get back into
the lake, but you must take the left passage, and let the current carry
you along for an hour, when it will join the head of the great Vitale
river, and flow out into the open air. Continue with the stream until it
turns towards the east, then you must climb over the mountains, and keep
ever northwards. Hold your hand under my mouth that I may give you money
for your journey."

George did as he was bid, and the fish poured forty shining groschen into
his hand. Each one of them would pay for a day's nourishment and a
night's lodging.

The fish then dived under, George plunged after it into the pool, and
followed the shimmering light that emanated from his scaly guide.
Sometimes the rocky passages, through which he crawled on his stomach in
shallow water, became so small that he bumped his head, and had to press
his shoulders together in order to pass, and often he thought that he
would stick fast among the rocks, like a hatchet in a block of wood.
He always managed to free himself, however, and finally reached the big
basin, where a crowd of maidens with green hair and scaly tails were
sporting, and they invited him to come and play tag with them. But the
fish advised him not to stop with the idle hussies, and then parted from
him.