` Well , you are a beauty ! ' she cried to herself ; but the fish looked up to her and said : ` You had better not kill me , for , if you do , I will turn you into a fish yourself ! ' The girl laughed contemptuously , and ran straight in to her mother . ` Look what I have caught , ' she said gaily ; ` but it is almost a pity to eat it , for it can talk , and it declares that , if I kill it , it will turn me into a fish too . ' ` Oh , put it back , put it back ! ' implored the mother . ` Perhaps it is skilled in magic . And I should die , and so would your father , if anything should happen to you . ' ` Oh , nonsense , mother ; what power could a creature like that have over me ? Besides , I am hungry , and if I do n't have my dinner soon , I shall be cross . ' And off she went to gather some flowers to stick in her hair . About an hour later the blowing of a horn told her that dinner was ready . ` Did n't I say that fish would be delicious ? ' she cried ; and plunging her spoon into the dish the girl helped herself to a large piece . But the instant it touched her mouth a cold shiver ran through her . Her head seemed to flatten , and her eyes to look oddly round the corners ; her legs and her arms were stuck to her sides , and she gasped wildly for breath . With a mighty bound she sprang through the window and fell into the river , where she soon felt better , and was able to swim to the sea , which was close by . No sooner had she arrived there than the sight of her sad face attracted the notice of some of the other fishes , and they pressed round her , begging her to tell them her story . ' I am not a fish at all , ' said the new-comer , swallowing a great deal of salt water as she spoke ; for you can not learn how to be a proper fish all in a moment . ' I am not a fish at all , but a girl ; at least I was a girl a few minutes ago , only -- ' And she ducked her head under the waves so that they should not see her crying .
` Only you did not believe that the fish you caught had power XXXXX carry out its threat , ' said an old tunny .
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