The King was very angry. He banished the bad witch to her dark sea-forest forever, but he could not undo the magic.
So the seals who had once been sea-children sang their lament and cried and the King cried as he watched them swim away.
For a long, long time the seals travelled far over the seas. Once a year, for twenty-four hours, they found a beach hidden from human eyes, where they took off their silky coats and returned to their lovely shape. Then they played together until the sun went down the second time and it was time to put on their skins of grey and black and golden brown and go back into the sea.
