In the dark sea-forest there lived a strange sea-witch and the King asked her to marry him, although he did not love her. She was pleased to become the Queen of such fine kingdom but she was jealous of his beautiful straight-limbed children.
She was a cruel step-mother. One day she made a magic potion and wished a cruel enchantment on the children. She wished them to become seals and swim through the sea forever, but on one day every year they could regain their beautiful bodies from sundown to sundown.
This magic came on the children as they were playing: their bodies began to get thick and lose their shape; their arms turned into flippers; their fair skin became covered with coats of silky grey and black and golden brown. Only their eyes remained the same soft brown, and they continued to make music.
