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Through the Fire.

she was many miles away from the sound of the mermaid’s song.

“Now we will go and look at the mermaid,” said he; and back they flew again to the same spot. There, beneath them, resting on the top of the waves, Jack saw a very beautiful maiden. She had sad green eyes and long green hair. When he looked closer he saw that she had a long bright tail instead of legs, but he thought her very beautiful all the same. She was still singing in a sad sleepy voice, and as he listened he began to long to jump into the sea beside her. And the longing grew so strong that he would have thrown himself into her arms at once, had not the wind-fairy seized him and flown off with him before he had time.

How pleased the wind-fairy was about the ship!

“I am so glad we came up,” he said. “A few minutes later and the mermaid would have got it, and I could have done nothing;” and he laughed for pleasure.

Then when Jack thought of the poor ship, and how nearly she had perished, and saw how glad the good little wind-man was that he had

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