If , therefore , you want a son-in-law who is greater than the whole world , seek him among the rats . ' ` Ah , what did I tell you ? ' cried the father . And his wife , though for the moment angry at being beaten , soon thought that a rat son-in-law was what she had always desired . So all three returned happily home , and the wedding was celebrated three days after . -LSB- Contes Populaires . -RSB- The Mermaid and the Boy Long , long ago , there lived a king who ruled over a country by the sea . When he had been married about a year , some of his subjects , inhabiting a distant group of islands , revolted against his laws , and it became needful for him to leave his wife and go in person to settle their disputes . The queen feared that some ill would come of it , and implored him to stay at home , but he told her that nobody could do his work for him , and the next morning the sails were spread , and the king started on his voyage . The vessel had not gone very far when she ran upon a rock , and stuck so fast in a cleft that the strength of the whole crew could not get her off again . To make matters worse , the wind was rising too , and it was quite plain that in a few hours the ship would be dashed to pieces and everybody would be drowned , when suddenly the form of a mermaid was seen dancing on the waves which threatened every moment to overwhelm them . ` There is only one way to free yourselves , ' she said to the king , bobbing up and down in the water as she spoke , ` and that is to give me your solemn word that you will deliver to me the first child that is born to you . ' The king hesitated at this proposal . He hoped that some day he might have children in his home , and the thought that he must yield up the heir to his crown was very bitter to him ; but just then a huge wave broke with great force on the ship 's side , and his men fell on their knees and entreated him to save them . So he promised , and this time a wave lifted the vessel clean off the rocks , and she was in the open sea once more . The affairs of the islands took longer to settle than the king had expected , and some months passed away before he returned to his palace . In his absence a son had been born to him , and so great was his joy that he quite forgot the mermaid and the price he had paid for the safety of his ship . But as the years went on , and the baby grew into a fine big boy , the remembrance of it came back , and one day he told the queen the whole story . From that moment the happiness of both their lives was ruined . Every night they went to bed wondering if they should find his room empty in the morning , and every day they kept him by their sides , expecting him to be snatched away before their very eyes .
At last the king felt that this state of things could not continue , and he said to his wife : ` After all , the most foolish thing XXXXX the world one can do is to keep the boy here in exactly the place in which the mermaid will seek him .
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