I saw by the way she looked that she would grant your request when she had thought over it , ' and , telling Elsa to wait , she entered the house to seek her mother . Elsa meanwhile was tossed about between hope and fear , and felt as if the girl would never come . At last Elsa saw her crossing the grass with a box in her hand . ` My mother says we may play together to-day , as she wants to make up her mind what to do about you . But I hope you will stay here always , as I ca n't bear you to go away . Have you ever been on the sea ? ' ` The sea ? ' asked Elsa , staring ; ` what is that ? I 've never heard of such a thing ! ' ` Oh , I 'll soon show you , ' answered the girl , taking the lid from the box , and at the very bottom lay a scrap of a cloak , a mussel shell , and two fish scales . Two drops of water were glistening on the cloak , and these the girl shook on the ground . In an instant the garden and lawn and everything else had vanished utterly , as if the earth had opened and swallowed them up , and as far as the eye could reach you could see nothing but water , which seemed at last to touch heaven itself . Only under their feet was a tiny dry spot . Then the girl placed the mussel shell on the water and took the fish scales in her hand . The mussel shell grew bigger and bigger , and turned into a pretty little boat , which would have held a dozen children . The girls stepped in , Elsa very cautiously , for which she was much laughed at by her friend , who used the fish scales for a rudder . The waves rocked the girls softly , as if they were lying in a cradle , and they floated on till they met other boats filled with men , singing and making merry . ` We must sing you a song in return , ' said the girl , but as Elsa did not know any songs , she had to sing by herself . Elsa could not understand any of the men 's songs , but one word , she noticed , came over and over again , and that was ` Kisika . ' Elsa asked what it meant , and the girl replied that it was her name .
It was all so pleasant that they might have stayed there for ever had not a voice cried out XXXXX them , ` Children , it is time for you to come home ! '
In about at by for from into on to under