Then he went back to his boat, lay down
beside it, and pretended to be asleep.
"Presently he saw the young maidens trip down to the strand to don their
seal skins. At first all was play and laughter, which was changed to
weeping and wailing when one of the mermaids could not find her seal
robe. Her companions ran up and down the strand and helped her search
for it, but no trace could they find. While they were seeking they
noticed that the sky was growing pale and the day was breaking, so they
could tarry no longer, and they all swam away, leaving behind the one
whose seal skin was missing. She sat on the strand and wept.
"The fisherman felt sorry for her, of course, but he forced himself to
lie still till daybreak. Then he got up, pushed the boat into the water,
and stepped into it to make it appear that he saw her by chance after he
had lifted the oars.
"'Who are you?' he called out. 'Are you shipwrecked?'
"She ran toward him and asked if he had seen her seal skin. The
fisherman looked as if he did not know what she was talking about. She
sat down again and wept. Then he determined to take her with him in the
boat. 'Come with me to my cottage,' he commanded, 'and my mother will
take care of you. You can't stay here on the island, where you have
neither food nor shelter!' He talked so convincingly that she was
persuaded to step into his boat.
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