" if it be no more than that ... " said the youth . then he went down to the shore and sat on a sand - pile , and when he had sat there long enough , he wished that a ship might lie out in the fjord , completely equipped with masts and sails and all that goes with them , and that it might resemble the ship already lying there in every particular . and that very minute there lay the ship , and when the king saw that there were two ships at anchor instead of one , he came down to the shore himself to look more closely into the matter . and then he saw the youth . he was standing in a boat , with a broom in one hand , as though he meant to give the ship a final cleaning ; but when he saw the king coming , he threw away the broom and cried : " now the ship is finished . do i get your daughter now ? " " that is all very fine , " said the king , " but you must stand yet another test . if you can build a castle that is just like mine in every particular within an hour or so , then we will go further into the matter . "
to pretend he was building the ship .
why did the youth sit on a sand-pile before working ?
why did the youth sit on a sand-pile before working ?