his tribulation, told the old man about the loss of the hook and his brother's anger. The old man told Hi-ko that he was the "Venerable Ixiiler of the Tides," and that he could aid him. A wicker basket Avas speedily woven, as if by magic, and the old man directed Hi-ko to go afloat in it and search for his hook, rather than return and bear with his brother's unkindness.
Hi-ko gladly followed the advice, and, confident that the old man meant him well, set off without fear, for he was brave and honest. Before he had drifted far, he felt himself sinking rapidly down into the depths of the sea, and he could soon see spread before him a beautiful lake, on the banks of which grew an immense tree. Not far from the tree Hi-ko saw the entrance to a beautiful palace that turned out to be the Dragon Shrine or Sanctuary. Hi-ko, looking over the edge of his basket, saw a lovely maiden leave, the shrine and approach the lake with a crystal vessel as if going to draw water, and in his eagerness and surprise he lost his balance and fell out, alighting in the branches of the tree. The noise startled the maiden, and, seeing the reflection of Hi-ko in the water beneath, she looked up, and saw the original in all his manly beauty just above her, gazing at her with admiration. The maiden, dropping her crystal water-holder, hastened back to the temple, and, meeting an old man at the entrance, pointed out to him Hi-ko in the branches of the tree. She said, "Surely this must be a son of the gods, he is so beautiful;" and, if it was one of these divine beings come from Japan, he should be treated with kindness and invited to their home.
This old man was Wada Zumi ("Wide-spread oceans"), and the beautiful maiden was his daughter, the Peerless Jewel lady.
Hi-ko was therefore invited by both to become their guest, and their friendly reception induced him to tell them of his misfortune, and of his meeting with the old man of the tides. The host promised to assist his guest, but did not mention that really he was aware of all this before, and that his friend of the tides had done him a good act to send in his direction so worthy a husband for his daughter.
The impatience and anxiety of Hi-ko, being allayed by hopes of finding the missing hook, were indeed soon forgotten in the companion-
