they stood in a circle while they played this, and the one to whom the word snow fell, had to run away and all the others ran after him and caught him. as they were running about so merrily the step-mother watched them from the window, and grew angry. and as she understood arts of witchcraft she bewitched them both, and changed the little brother into a fish, and the little sister into a lamb. then the fish swam here and there about the pond and was very sad, and the lambkin walked up and down the meadow, and was miserable, and could not eat or touch one blade of grass. thus passed a long time, and then strangers came as visitors to the castle. the false step-mother thought, "this is a good opportunity," and called the cook and said to him, "go and fetch the lamb from the meadow and kill it, we have nothing else for the visitors." then the cook went away and got the lamb, and took it into the kitchen and tied its feet, and all this it bore patiently. when he had drawn out his knife and was whetting it on the door-step to kill the lamb, he noticed a little fish swimming backwards and forwards in the water, in front of the kitchen-sink and looking up at him. this, however, was the brother, for when the fish saw the cook take the lamb away, it followed them and swam along the pond to the house; then the lamb cried down to it,