The woman thanked him and went down to the sea. She had only called for the giant sea turtle twice when he rose up through the water with a great splash.

“Don’t be afraid,” Sea Turtle said. “Hold onto my shell. I will take you to the sea people who know all things and all stories.”

Down, down, down they went into the sea, right to the bottom, straight to the king and queen of the sea.

“And who is this?” asked the king.

“This is a woman from the dry lands above our waters,” whispered the queen.

“What is it that you want, woman of the dry lands?” asked the queen.

“What is it that you want, woman of the dry lands?” asked the queen.

“Stories, your Highness. Do you have any that I can take to my people?”

“We do,” said the queen. “But do you have something to exchange for these stories?”

“What would you like?” asked the woman.

The king and queen smiled. “We cannot go up to your dry lands. We would like to see what it is like. Bring us something to show us what kind of animals and people there are.”

“I will,” said the woman.