cries she uttered softened the heart of the Prince; he took the
stone from his mouth, and drawing his sword he rushed after the
giant, so as to give the lady time to escape. But hardly had he
come within reach of the enemy, than the giant touched him with a
ring that he held in his hand, and the Prince remained immovable
where he stood. The giant then hastily rejoined his prey, and,
seizing her in his arms, he plunged her into the sea. Then he
sent some tritons to bind chains about the Prince of the Golden
Isle, and he too felt himself borne to the depths of the ocean,
and without the hope of ever again seeing the Princess.

Now the giant whom the invisible had so rashly attacked was the
Lord of the Sea, and the third son of the Queen of the Elements,
and he had touched the youth with a magic ring which enabled a
mortal to live under water. So the Prince of the Golden Isle
found, when bound in chains by the tritons, he was carried
through the homes of strange monsters and past immense seaweed
forests, till he reached a vast sandy space, surrounded by huge
rocks. On the tallest of the rocks sat the giant as on a throne.

'Rash mortal,' said he, when the Prince was dragged before him,
'you have deserved death, but you shall live only to suffer more
cruelly. Go, and add to the number of those whom it is my
pleasure to torture.'

At these words the unhappy Prince found himself tied to a rock;
but he was not alone in his misfortunes, for all round him were
chained Princes and Princesses, whom the giant had led captive.
Indeed, it was his chief delight to create a storm, in order to
add to the list of his prisoners.