But all the same he did not enjoy his good fortune , for he could not forget his compact with the nixy , and he knew that sooner or later she would demand his fulfilment of it . But year after year went by , and the boy grew up and became a great hunter , and the lord of the land took him into his service , for he was as smart and bold a hunter as you would wish to see . In a short time he married a pretty young wife , and lived with her in great peace and happiness . One day when he was out hunting a hare sprang up at his feet , and ran for some way in front of him in the open field . The hunter pursued it hotly for some time , and at last shot it dead . Then he proceeded to skin it , never noticing that he was close to the mill-pond , which from childhood up he had been taught to avoid . He soon finished the skinning , and went to the water to wash the blood off his hands . He had hardly dipped them in the pond when the nixy rose up in the water , and seizing him in her wet arms she dragged him down with her under the waves . When the hunter did not come home in the evening his wife grew very anxious , and when his game bag was found close to the mill-pond she guessed at once what had befallen him . She was nearly beside herself with grief , and roamed round and round the pond calling on her husband without ceasing . At last , worn out with sorrow and fatigue , she fell asleep and dreamt that she was wandering along a flowery meadow , when she came to a hut where she found an old witch , who promised to restore her husband to her . When she awoke next morning she determined to set out and find the witch ; so she wandered on for many a day , and at last she reached the flowery meadow and found the hut where the old witch lived . The poor wife told her all that had happened and how she had been told in a dream of the witch 's power to help her . The witch counselled her to go to the pond the first time there was a full moon , and to comb her black hair with a golden comb , and then to place the comb on the bank . The hunter 's wife gave the witch a handsome present , thanked her heartily , and returned home . Time dragged heavily till the time of the full moon , but it passed at last , and as soon as it rose the young wife went to the pond , combed her black hair with a golden comb , and when she had finished , placed the comb on the bank ; then she watched the water impatiently . Soon she heard a rushing sound , and a big wave rose suddenly and swept the comb off the bank , and a minute after the head of her husband rose from the pond and gazed sadly at her . But immediately another wave came , and the head sank back into the water without having said a word . The pond lay still and motionless , glittering in the moonshine , and the hunter 's wife was not a bit better off than she had been before . In despair she wandered about for days and nights , and at last , worn out by fatigue , she sank once more into a deep sleep , and dreamt exactly the same dream about the old witch .
So next morning she went again XXXXX the flowery meadow and sought the witch in her hut , and told her of her grief .
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