lake yonder, and delightful sands, and the water clear as crystal; and there are three sisters whom we have seen swimming in that clear lake, and whose beauty we have never seen the like of." Then said Andrianòro, "I will capture one of them for my wife." So he said to his subjects, "Where lives the person most skilful in divination?" The people replied, "Go to Rànakòmbé, for he is the most skilful diviner." So Andrianòro went to Rànakòmbé and said, "Be so good as to divine for me, Rànakòmbé, for there is a person whom I wish for a wife in this lake; but if any one approaches the lake then she flies away, for in heaven, they say, is her dwelling-place; so please give me good counsel as to what I should do to capture her," Then Rànakòmbé answered, "Go thou away to the lake and change into three very ripe lemons, and then while the three sisters are playing do thou desire them; and when the three take thee, then do thou change again into a man, and so lay hold of one of the three sisters for thy wife."
So when Andrianòro had come to the sand where the three sisters played, he changed into three lemons, according to Rànakòmbé's directions. And when the three sisters came there and saw the lemons, they were exceedingly astonished. So the youngest of the three said, "Come, let us take these lemons for ourselves." But the eldest and the second one replied, "Don't let us touch these lemons, for it is a snare, for from long ago there have been no such lemons here." Then they flew away, and went up into the sky.
So the lemons changed again, it is said, and became Andrianòro once more, and off he went afresh to Rànakòmbé to inquire what divination would enable him to obtain his wish; and the divination worked by Rànakòmbé gave answer, "Do thou change into bluish water in the midst of the lake, and when the three sisters swim there, lay hold of them." So Andrianòro went away again. But when the three sisters came again to swim they were afraid to do so, for they said, "That water is a snare, like the lemons we saw before."
And after a little while again, Andrianòro changed again in an instant into the seed of the ànamàmy [a vegetable] growing by the water side; but the sisters knew all about it. So Andrianòro was perplexed, and did not see what he could do, for he wished to obtain one of the three for a wife. And off he went again to Rànakòmbé to ask some more suitable counsel as to how he might obtain her. So Rànakòmbé said, "Do thou change into an ant, and walk upon the
