The archer passed through many countries and kingdoms, and the ball kept rolling ever onwards. Whenever they came to a river the ball expanded into a bridge, and whenever the archer wished to rest, the ball widened into a downy bed. Whether the time be long or whether it be short the tale is quickly told, though the deed be not quickly done; suffice it to say that at last the archer came to a vast and wealthy palace; the ball rolled right up against the door and vanished. The archer fell a-thinking. "I had better go straight on," thought he, so he went up the staircase into a room, and there met him there three lovely damsels. "Whence and wherefore hast thou come hither, good man?" said they. "Alas! lovely damsels, ye ask me not to rest from my long journey, but ye begin to torment me with questionings. First ye should give me to eat and drink and let me rest, and then only should ye ask me of my tidings!" They immediately laid the table, gave him to eat and drink, and made him lie down to rest. The archer slept away his weariness, rose from his soft bed, and the lovely damsels brought him a washing-basin and an embroidered towel. He washed himself in the clear spring-water, but the towel he would not take. "I have my handkerchief wherewith to wipe my face," said he, and he drew out the handkerchief and began to dry himself. And the lovely damsels fell a-questioning him. "Tell us, good man! whence hast thou got that handkerchief?"--"My wife gave it to me."--"Then thou must have married one of our kinswomen." Then they called their old mother, and she looked at the handkerchief, recognizing it the same instant, and cried: "This is indeed my daughter's handkerchief!" Then she began to put all manner of questions to the archer. He told her how he had married her daughter, and how the King had sent him I know not whither, to fetch I know not what. "Alas! my dear son-in-law, not even I have heard of this marvel. But come now, perchance my servants may know of it." Then the old woman fetched her book of spells, turned over the leaves, and immediately there appeared two giants. "What is thy pleasure, and what is thy command?"--"Look now, my faithful servants, carry me together with my son-in-law to the wide sea Ocean, and place us in the very centre of it--in the very abyss." Immediately the giants caught up the archer and the old woman, and bore them, as by a hurricane, to the wide sea Ocean, and placed them in the centre of it--in the very abyss; there they stood like two vast columns, and held the archer and the old woman in their arms. Then the old woman cried with a loud voice, and there came swimming up to her all the fish and creeping things of the sea, so that the blue sea was no longer to be seen for the multitude of them. "Hark! ye fishes and creeping things of the sea. Ye who swim everywhere, have ye perchance heard how to go I know not whither, to fetch I know not what?" And all the fishes and creeping things