The Cleverness of Ervic We must now return to Ervic the Skeezer, who, when he had set down the copper kettle containing the three fishes at the gate of the lonely cottage, had asked, "What next ?" The goldfish stuck its head above the water in the kettle and said in its small but distinct voice: "You are to lift the latch, open the door, and walk boldly into the cottage.

Do not be afraid of anything you see, for however you seem to be threatened with dangers, nothing can harm you.

The cottage is the home of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who assumes all sorts of forms, sometimes changing her form several times in a day, according to her fancy.

What her real form may be we do not know.

This strange creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed through friendship, or won by pity.