Once upon a time there were two children, a boy and a girl. They only
had a mother, who was a widow. One day their mother sent them to get
some wood for the fire. Off they went. The girl was just learning to
knit, so she put a ball of wool in her pocket. They went on as far
as they knew the way. Then suddenly they began to wonder whether they
could find their way home.
The girl said: "I will bind the end of the thread to a tree, and so
we shall be able to find our way back."
So they went on till the thread had all run out. Then they turned back,
but they found that wild creatures had broken the thread. What were
they to do? They wandered on till night fell, and then they saw that
they would have to spend the night in the forest. They came to a pond,
and they found that they could not go any farther. So they walked round
the pond till the Waternick got hold of them. He took them with him,
and there they were.
When he got home with them, his wife was waiting for him. Round the
stove there were some shelves for vessels that they used for catching
poor souls in. The Waternick and his wife were delighted with the
children; they decided that they would employ them as servants, so
Mrs. Waternick took charge of them. The children spent some years in
this way and learned about everything under the water.
One day the Waternick went away to catch some human souls, and he
gave orders to Mrs. Waternick not to leave the children alone. But
the old hag fell asleep, and the children walked some distance from
the hut, till they thought she would scold them, and so they returned
home. But they meant to go farther the next day, if only the old hag
went to sleep again. As soon as they were sure that she was asleep
they ran out of the hut and went as far as they could.