At daybreak he got up , ready to be gone , and the woman bade him farewell , saying : ' I have a sister who dwells on the road which you must travel . It is a long road , and it would take you a year and a day to reach it , but put on these old brown shoes with holes all over them , and you will be there before you know it . Then shake them off , and turn their toes to the known , and their heels to the unknown , and they will come home of themselves . ' The fisher 's son did as the woman told him , and everything happened just as she had said . But at parting the second sister said to him , as she gave him another pair of shoes : ` Go to my third sister , for she has a son who is keeper of the birds of the air , and sends them to sleep when night comes . He is very wise , and perhaps he can help you . ' Then the young man thanked her , and went to the third sister . The third sister was very kind , but had no counsel to give him , so he ate and drank and waited till her son came home , after he had sent all the birds to sleep . He thought a long while after his mother had told him the young man 's story , and at last he said that he was hungry , and the cow must be killed , as he wanted some supper . So the cow was killed and the meat cooked , and a bag made of its red skin . ` Now get into the bag , ' bade the son , and the young man got in and took his gun with him , but the dog and the falcon he left outside . The keeper of the birds drew the string at the top of the bag , and left it to finish his supper , when in flew an eagle through the open door , and picked the bag up in her claws and carried it through the air to an island . There was nothing to eat on the island , and the fisher 's son thought he would die of food , when he remembered the box that the lady had put in his pocket . He opened the lid , and three tiny little birds flew out , and flapping their wings they asked , ` Good master , is there anything we can do for thee ? ' ` Bear me to the kingdom of the king under the waves , ' he answered , and one little bird flew on to his head , and the others perched on each of his shoulders , and he shut his eyes , and in a moment there he was in the country under the sea . Then the birds flew away , and the young man looked about him , his heart beating fast at the thought that here dwelt the lady whom he had sought all the world over . He walked on through the streets , and presently he reached the house of a weaver who was standing at his door , resting from his work . ` You are a stranger here , that is plain , ' said the weaver , ` but come in , and I will give you food and drink . ' And the young man was glad , for he knew not where to go , and they sat and talked till it grew late . ` Stay with me , I pray , for I love company and am lonely , ' observed the weaver at last , and he pointed to a bed in a corner , where the fisher 's son threw himself , and slept till dawn .
` There is to be a horse-race XXXXX the town to-day , ' remarked the weaver , ` and the winner is to have the king 's daughter to wife . '
So about at before for in on through under with