Reflecting the Bases of Vocabulary Selection for

Materials Production: Towards Reforming

Teacher-Education Agenda
Dr. Hamoud M. Kadha
Dean of Faculty of Education-Zabid
Hodeidah University, Republic of Yemen

Abstract
Students, when first confronted with studying a high level... subject
matter in their new language, are to be provided with a backup of language
assistance, so that they do not feel overwhelmed and fall back on desperate
dictionary searching and mental translation into the first language. Such a
traumatic experience often hampers language learners considerably in their
progress and destroys their fragile enthusiasm for developing new skills of
natural expression in their new language. Such a backup, or alternate
vocabulary learning strategies, needs to be fostered during students' initial
encounter with the new target language. Yet, commonsensical ELT
knowledge and my experience in training student-teachers over the last
decade and a half compel me to posit an assumption that teachers ( in
school and college-level in Yemeni context) are not trained adequately or
given flexible and proper ways whereby they could encourage their learners
construct such a backup. The present paper begins an exploration into the
problematized phenomenon- of teachers' vocabulary teaching competence
that would foster autonomous vocabulary learning skills and looks into the
rationalized bases for and/or reflected-upon approaches to lexical selection
for materials production . The paper would develop the argument that the
vocabulary control movement in ELT

has imposed a powerful and

ideological stance ( reflected, in for example, in choosing familiar lexical

items) vis--vis vocabulary selection and instruction ; it would posit that
creating an awareness through the reflection among, teachers (trainees or
practitioners ) of their activities before and during the actual instruction
might offer a way of supervening the inhibitive effects of such a stance.

Introduction
The most obvious point to make about this study is that there is so little
importance has been given to vocabulary in modern language teaching.
Both the structural model and the communicative model, in their different
ways, consistently underplay it. In the recent years, however, research into
vocabulary teaching/learning has been clearly on the increase and its long
neglected importance being brought to our attention by the poineers in the
field (for example, Aebersold and Field , 1997; Carter, 1987; Gairns and
Redman, 1987 and Willis, 1981). Their studies along with developments in
pedagogical lexicography and coursebook design, has continued to aid the
teacher and learner in the work of improving vocabulary teaching/learning
in the classroom.
It is now accepted that it is difficult to have a tight lexical control over
the number of words to be taught, because the items which can be singled
out for teaching are an individual matter between readers and texts. it is
based on the linguistic level of texts and students , as well as their interest
and background knowledge of the topic area. In any case, language
preparation does not mean that the teacher should explain every possible
unknown word in the text, but that he should ensure that the learners will
be able to deal with the text tasks without being totally frustrated by
language difficulties. As a guideline, Fry (1963) suggests introducing only
one new word in thirty-five words for foreign/second language learners. In

addition, the language preparation should be carried out by the teacher as

well as by the learners.
The introduction of newly selected words, however, should be presented
in texts, utterances or sentences. In particular, a good retention of new
words requires that the traces of meaningful related words be connected in
many different ways. Working with texts can lead to a good retention of the
new words, but certain textual and psychological conditions should be met.
With respect to the textual conditions, it proves to be essential that not all
the new words a text contains are to be learned. A selection should be made
of words which occur in an appropriate context and

which, moreover,

belong to the appropriate frequency range for the learner. There are
strong reasons to assume that semanticaly related words are stored together
in the mental lexicon. Several studies have shown that the occurrence of a
particular word tends to bring into learners minds not only that word but
also clusters of other words closely related to it. This suggests that word
frequency and regency of use are the two most important factors that affect
the storage and retrieval of words in the learners mental lexicon.
Therefore, the teaching of vocabulary related to concepts and semantic
relationships will undoable make the task of learning easier for the
students. This means that at this point of the activity, the learners have not
only activated their productive vocabulary knowledge but they have also
reviewed some of the target language vocabulary receptively or
productively.
On the other hand, the psychological conditions concern the actions on
learning texts which may enhance retention of the selected target words. A
sequence of three actions proves to be most effective, i.e. guessing the
meaning of the unknown word from the context and from word form clues,
verifying this in a dictionary. So , whether we use the oldest

Structural

Approach

where words

are presented in vocabulary lists or the

contemporary Communicative Approach which emphasizes language use,

it is necessary that the vocabulary selection for learning should be based on
psychological and didactic principles. Accordingly, vocabulary should be
acquired mainly through reading with certain textual and psychological
conditions.

Statement of the Problem

Knowledge of vocabulary is a prerequisite for understanding any
language text. In my experience as a teacher in school and college for about
15 years, it has been found that most learners are very concerned about the
difficulty of learning and remembering new words in English. This reflects
a real problem which both learners and teachers are constantly trying to
solve. One important step toward

better

vocabulary learning

is

to

identify the learner/learning strategies and teacher/teaching techniques for

good vocabulary acquisition , as it has been established that successful
language teachers and learners

vary their teaching

techniques and

learning strategies , evaluate their performance and adapt their strategies

accordingly.

Aims of the Research:

The aims of the present research are of twofold:
1- To develop teachers awareness and knowledge (in pre-service
and in-service) of relevant and recent approaches in ELT.
2- To

develop

teachers

practitioners) with

practical

ability

(trainees

and

relation to the criteria of selection and

classroom techniques of teaching and learning vocabulary.

Research Questions
The present research attempts to answer three open-ended questions
related to vocabulary teaching/learning:
1- What are the words to pre-teach?
2 - What are the reasons for selection?
3- How are they taught?

Methodology
To achieve the aims of this study and answer the three questions
mentioned above, an extensive pilot study was undertaken at the
Faculty of Education Hodeidah and Zabid, Hodeidah University,
Republic of Yemen, where a number of a random set of studentteachers (about 80 fourth year pre-service trainees) alongside with
their teachers (about 15 teachers holding MAs and PhDs with several
years of experience in language teaching) specialized in English were
given two prose texts of appropriate length (from 600 words to 1100
words in length) drawn from different disciplines on the basis of their
presumed interest value and readability. Both teachers and learners
were informed that the materials were intended to be presented to the
students of second year English majors in the College. Because, the
choice of words to be taught, the reasons for choosing them , and the
techniques employed would all depend greatly on the level of students
at which the texts were intended to be taught.

Both teachers and

student-teachers were asked to answer the inquiry stated above in

order to ensure an equal share of responsibility and commitment. The
choice of texts was based on intuition and experience. The fourth year
students were used for conducting the work because, at this stage, it is
assumed that the student-teachers have reached the necessary level of
theoretical and practical experience in teaching English after four

years of study in the College of Education. In the context of this

research, the results were analysed using some descriptive statistics
and the data obtained from the analysis were considered for their
implications in the classroom.

Results and Analysis

In response to question 1, Table 1 shows that the number of
words selected for teaching - the text entitled "Doctor in the House"
(623 words in length , Appendix 1 ) ranged from 15- 50 words by
the teachers and ranged from 8-30 words by the students and for
the

fable entitled The Crystal Ball (1069 words in length,

Appendix 2),

the words selected for teaching ranged from 10 -50

words by teachers, and ranged from 10-40 by students.

The

dichtonomy between teachers and students concerning the type and

number of words chosen for teaching might be due to the lack of
enough

experiences on the part of

student-teachers

and

consequently they overestimated the level of the second

year

students whom the texts were supposed to be presented while a

more realistic estimate

was probably reflected

in responses of

teachers. However, samples of the students and teachers' words

selection are mentioned in Appendices 1 and 2. The students' choices
are underlined while those of the teachers are italized.
TABLE 1
NUMBER OF WORDS SELECTED
FOR TEACHING
Range of Number of Words Selected for Teaching

Title of the passage

Doctor in the House
The Crystal Ball

Teachers

Students

15-50
10-50

8-30
10-40

This means that there is no restrictive rule regarding the number of

words to be taught in a lesson or a lecture. The selection of words, as
mentioned earlier, depends on the difficulty level of the text, usefulness and
availability of lexical items and the needs and interests of the learners. In
other words, allow the students more autonomy in lexical decision-making
through self-selection vocabulary approach. In this view, there is a need for
texts which are in use in real- life transactions. These can be called
authentic texts i.e texts which are not doctored or simplified. In most cases,
the topics of these texts are related to the learners own world, culture,
background and experience. Thus, helping the learners use whatever
communicative resources available to them to make meaning. Moreover,
the students can be asked to recall or anticipate some words related to the
topic with the help of the title of the text. The idea is that the area or frame
of reference suggested by the title will constrain the number and the kind of
selection of likely words. This is likely to enable the students to recognise
and remember other words and concepts associated with the subject area
being read.
Having said that, pre-teaching is time-consuming; it will sustain students
interest and curiosity. Furthermore, in the Yemeni context, where there
are limited resources and exposure to the language outside the classroom is
not available, pre-teaching is an effective way in tackling text vocabulary.
The analysis of the results given by teachers and student-teachers of
questions 2 and 3 is summarised in Table 2.

The responses provide some

suggestions regarding the bases of selection and the techniques of

instruction. The similarity of some answers shown in the table indicates
that both students and teachers have the same awareness in respect of
the criteria

for selection

and the use

for instructional techniques.

However, in some other aspects, the table shows that the learners are more

sophisticated in realizing the vocabulary teaching principles. This might be

due to the number of the sample of students involved in the study is more
than the teachers. Most important, the students are expected to become
qualified teachers as they study so many courses related to teaching and
education in the college, whereas some of the teachers participated in the
study did not have necessary educational qualifications or formal training
in teaching the language . The analysis of the results, however, is by no
means exhaustive.
TABLE 2
REASONS FOR SELECTION AND
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
STUDENT TEACHERS RESPONSES

Reasons for
Selection
-related to the text
- unfamiliar words
- important archaic
words
- key words-familiar
- difficult context
- self-selection voc
- related to backg
- related to context/
experience
- theme main idea
- compound words

Teaching
Techniques
- depend on the level
of Ss
- synonyms
- visual aids
- gestures
- translation
- group work
- miming
- level-age
- examples
- pictures
- meaningful context
- context
- direct method
- real objects
- guesting from
context
- elicitation
- explanation
- antonyms
- using title to check
meaning
- using Arabic
- definition
- illustration
- glossary
- drawing
- pronounce
- dictionary
- words in sent

TEACHERS RESPONSES

Reasons for
Selection

Teaching
Techniques

- target words
- lexical field
- content word
- core meaning
- thematic reasons
- difficult key words
- message
- awareness of
concepts
- important
significant
- grouping words
- general mood
acquainted with
words
- everyday com
- high frequency
- active vocab
- related voc
expansion
- necessary for com
but not part of active
vocabulary

- meaningful context
- examples on bb
- eliciting
- definition
- clues pictures
- synonyms acting
- illustration
- mime-action
- explaining
- translating
meaningful sent
- parts of speech
- word formation
- connotation
- guessing from cont.
- examples
- using title
- pictures
- familiar real context
- group work
- pair work
- ss personal
experience
- dictionary
- everyday situation

Note: The information in the table is not listed according to priorities.

The fact is that students cannot make any sense of texts, if they are
linguistically deficient. Without having sufficient vocabulary knowledge,
access to information will be vague and uncertain.

This implies that

teachers need to prepare themselves to help students develop their skills to

deal with unknown words, and also guide students to learn how to take
responsibility for their own vocabulary development.
It has become quite apparent that vocabulary and new words should
always be offered in context and not in isolation, or else the rate of retention
will be quite low. A context provides the learner with cognitive and
contextual clues as it relates situation to word-recognition and meaning.
When a text is read it is therefore necessary to concentrate

on all the

words essential to understand the text, and not on irrelevant, exceptional

and minor words. The teacher should encourage the learner to search for
clues and to try and come to a solution himself. Some words may initially
seem to be unknown, but with a little help, the learner-reader may discover
clues in the context or in the word itself, or in his own knowledge that
trigger off an answer or a step in the right direction.
Therefore, the learners should be provided with practical strategies of
learning to help them deal with new vocabulary of different texts properly
if they are to become effective independent learners. Within this context,
the teachers have also to reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional
practice as to become advanced skilled teachers.(Ray, 2008).
Table 2 also shows that teachers and students under investigation have
an eclectic approach to teaching vocabulary. They do not subscribe to any
one school of thought. At this point, they need to be more critical of the
assumptions about learning that underline the techniques they choose to

use. Therefore, trainers and trainees involved in this study, need to make a
close examination of techniques they use when handling a text. Such an
approach can enhance teachers and learners understanding of useful and
actual techniques and thus provide a critical basis for selection or rejection.
In addition, it is clear from Table 2 that the responses to questions 2 and
3 are interrelated. This raises the question, "Are words selected for
techniques or techniques selected for words?"
It seems that it is not a matter of a choice but togetherness, involving a
conjoined activity, a balancing act-encouraged/engendered through
reflection on selection and teaching.

Teaching Implications
The theory is not questioned here, but its relevance to contexts such as
Yemen where teachers have to choose the most economical means of
enabling learners to learn English.
As we have aleady pointed out in the preceding paragraphs, there are a
number of variables to be taken into account in selecting the most effective
procedures for teaching and learning vocabulary in a foreign language
situation like Yemen. It is impossible to single out any procedure for
vocabulary teaching/learning which will be optimal in all teaching
situations. Some of the obvious factors which will have to be considered are
the motivation of the learners; aspects of the actual teaching situations,
such as the characteristics of the teacher and his expertive skills, some
characteristics of the material to be learned and learner/learning styles.
In this way, it is important to mention that the research available so far
has not indicated a clear cut superiority of one approach over another. In
other words, language teaching as Hubbard et al (1988) points out, has
always been subject to change, but the process of change has not resulted
from the steady accumulation of knowledge about the most effective ways

of teaching language. It has been the production of changing fashion. This

means that, though teachers have tended to leap from one method to
another as each new fashion turns up, they do not seem to have become any
wiser.

For instance, if you ask this question, "How many of you have

learned with the Structural Approach?" and see how proficient they are in
the language and by the same token, "How many of you have learned with
the Communicative

Approach" and see how deficient they are in the

language ? In this view, the problem is not in the approach or method that
we use rather than in the circumstances which make things learnable. So
which should we adopt and which we reject? The answer is simple: adopt
those techniques which result in successful learning: if they work, use them
without any hesitation, bearing in mind the following observations and
recommendations:

Typical Vocabulary Teaching:

Most vocabulary teaching is not from context
Haphazard selection of materials
Different vocabulary topic in each unit
Too many words at once
Rare words are favoured over common words
Focus on single words not lexical chunks

All students learn the same words

word teaching = definition and spelling

Teachers translate meanings
Low recycling of vocabulary in coursebooks
Low recycling of vocabulary by teachers
Teachers leave vocabulary learning to learners
Vocabulary learning strategies are rarely taught
Vocabulary learning techniques are rarely taught
Vocabulary learning goals are rarely set

 Dictionary skills are rarely taught

Vocabulary notebooks are not encouraged
Words are kept in lists
Vocabulary exercises test not taught
Teachers trust the coursebook to deal with vocabulary

When Selecting Vocabulary to Teach

Perform a needs analysis

Teach students something they are going to meet again soon

Teach words found in a wide range of texts (range)
before specialized vocabulary
Teach words with a wide meaning (coverage)
Teach words that will be easy to learn building the
start-up vocabulary and empower the learner
Teach culture-specific vocabulary
Teach the classroom vocabulary
Teach instructions vocabulary
Teach the base meaning first

Work hard on common words with many meanings

The Most Important Things for Teachers

Use a systematic approach (set realistic goals)

Select the vocabulary carefully
Single words as well as phrases and collocations
Give students opportunities to meet new words
Focus on concept check understanding
Recycle, re-visit, review, recapitulate, reiterate,
reconsider, repeat, revise, re-examineetc.

Plan the recycling of repetition in various contexts

Connect old learning to new learning

Give opportunities for incidental learning

Give opportunities for developing fluency an automaticity

Give opportunities for guessing words from context
Initial meetings are followed by deep thinking processing
Give opportunities for elaborating word knowledge
Let students experiment (individual/pair/group work)
Understand the vocabulary exercises in your textbooks

Teach students to use a dictionary properly

Teach students word learning strategies

When Looking at Vocabulary Activities
Look for what the activity is trying to do

Single words or phrases

Work with collocation

Emphasise natural context

Is the meaning clear and unambiguous?

Are the words too similar (interference)?
Are illustrations (e.g. pictures) clear and unambiguous?
Is the vocabulary relevant for the learners?
Is the exercise just a test?
What new connections can learners make?

Do definitions fit smoothly into the context?

Conclusion
In Conclusion, one would say that both students (in pre-service) and
teachers (in-service) should be made well aware of the effects of the
theoretical and practical principles underlying lexical selection and
instruction

for materials production, and critical

awareness will in

someway help provide better insights into this area through the close
analysis of the different features of written texts. More importantly, in
the era of a learner-centered approach, teacher-education should include
skills that aim to develop the confidence , awareness, self-reliance and self-

esteem of practicing teachers (teacher development) and the learner has to

take over part of the responsibility for what, why and how he /she is
learning (teacher training). In this educational context, we may enable
student-teachers and teacher-trainers to develop skills, knowledge and
understanding which will be practical, relevant and

applicable to their

current role or career aspiration.

References
Aebersold, J. and Field, M. (1997). From Reader to Reading Teacher
Cambridge: Cambridge University press
Carter, R. (1987). Vocabulary. London: Allen and Unwin.
Fry, E. (1963). Teaching Faster Reading: A Manual. Cambridge: Cambridge
Press.
Gairns, R. and Redman, S. (1990) . Working with Words. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Hubbard, P. Jones, H. Thorunton, B and Wheeler, R. (1985). A Training

Course for TEFL . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McEldowney, P. (1988). The Process of Communication: A Model for Teachers.
School of Education: University of Manchester.
Nuttal, C. (1987). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language . London : Heinemann.
Ray, H. (2008). "Defining and Achieving Standards of Excellence in Higher

Education: A Paper Presented in the Higher Education

Conference in the Arab World: Past, Present and
Future" . Qatar University: Doha.
Sinclair, J. (1986). Collocation: A Progress Report. Birmingham : University of
Birmingham.

Smith, F. (1990). Reading . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Statman, S. (1981). "The activation of semantic memory". ELT Journal. Vol.
35, No. 3, 232-235.
Wallace, M. (1982). Teaching Vocabulary. London: Heinemann
Widdowson, H. (1978). Teaching Language as Communication . Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Willis, D. (1990). The Lexical Syllabus. London: Collins

Appendix 1
DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE
Society has changed and what expected of doctors has changed with it. So
said the General Medical Council in a far-reaching report on what is expected
of the training that equips doctors for a medical career in the twenty-first
century.
It is a viewpoint Richard Hobbs, head of the Department of General Practice,
not only endorses but has been involved in implementing when similar
establishments may have been more cautious.
The GMC - the body responsible for standards at medical schools identified
in its 1980 report the need for student doctors to acquire more than facts and a
set of practical skills... important though they are.
It called on medical schools to rethink fundamentally their teaching approach.
In its 1991 report the GMC declared that it was 'more convinced than ever' of
the general principles laid down ten years previously, said Professor Hobbs.
Tomorrow's medics, he believes have to be geared up now for a changing world
of health.
'The plan is to introduce a problem-solving approach and create a lifelong
desire for education and learning among doctors. Courses were too demanding
and students expected to digest too much information. Some courses were so
full they may have suffocated students' ability to think critically,' said Professor
Hobbs.

Innovative changes, particulary in creating primary care opportunities for

students, have made Birmingham's Medical School a poineer in teaching
approach.
In a move that would have actors in Doctor in the House spluttering into
their kidney bowls, the school has pioneered pre-clinical patient attachments.
'In the first year students "adopt" a family... it could be a conventional family,
a single parent or even alone elderly person. The common factor is that all have
a condition, say pregnancy or a long-term disability, which affects them and
those around them,' said Professor Hobbs.
Students see the patient in the community over twelve months. It exposes
them to a range of experiences in learning how health problems affect the
patient, their careers and the health services. It enables them to think about why
a patient becomes ill; they have to take into account non-medical factors such as
unemployment, housing, the environment, etc. There is more opportunity in
primary care to explore these issues.
The newly-qualified doctor is contending with a shifting emphasis in
medicine. With the introduction of National Health Service hospitals, general
practitioners getting real purchasing power for patient services and health
authorities negotiating contracts on what and how much will be provided.
'We've been looking at this for the past decade and our curriculum review
working party is continually evaluating the medical course and finding ways of
doing things better', said Professor Hobbs.
'There is still a tremendous amount of fact-giving in the course but we also
make more use of the skills students already have.

Students come to

Birmingham articulate and with a range of experiences which they bring to

their course. It is important not to delate them.'

The next stage may bring even more emphasis on community-based

teaching, with support from specially trained general practitioners. A pilot
scheme will put some student medics on attachment with a GP in year three as
well as in the final year. If it works well, all students will eventually participate
in this extra community teaching. Such innovations like this will make
Birmingham popular with potential students. The 160 places on offer last year
had more than 1,600 applicants.
In July 1992 the Government brought out its Health of Nation White Paper,
a document which sets targets for improvements with the aim of a national
health not sickness service. With it has evolved pressures on all doctors to
respond to a broader spectrum of patient needs.
'We're the single medical school in the largest regional health authority in the
country--- around 10 percent of the population live within our region,' said
Professor Hobbs. 'Many hospitals participate in teaching, so students see a range
of patients. The hospital teaching linked with their community experience
should offer students the best of both worlds.'

Appendix 2

THE CRYSTAL BALL

There was once an enchantress, who had three sons who loved each other as
brothers, but the old woman did not trust them, and thought they wanted to steal
power from her. So she changed the eldest into an eagle which was forced to
dwell in the Rocky Mountains and was often seen sweeping in great circles in
the sky. The second, she changed into a whale, which lived in the deep sea, and
all that was seen of it was that it sometimes spouted up a great jet of water in the
air. Each of them only bore his human form for only two hours daily. The third
son, who was afraid she might change him into a raging wild beast a bear
perhaps, or a wolf, went secertly away. He had heard that a king's daughter who
was bewitched, was imprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and was
waiting for deliverance. Those , however, who tried to free her risked their
lives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death, and now only
one other might make the attempt , after which no more must come. And as his
heart was without fear, he caught at the idea of seeking out the Castle of the
Golden Sun. He had already travelled about for a long time without being able
to find it, when he came by chance into a great forest and did not know the way
out of it. All at once he saw in the distance two giants, who made a sign to him
with their hands , and when he came to them they said, "We are quarrelling
about a cap , and which of us it is to belong to , and as we are equally strong,
neither of us can get the better of the other. The small men are cleverer than we
are, so we will leave the decision to thee." "How can you dispute about an old
cap?" said the youth. "Thou dost not know what properties it has!

It is a

wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away wherever he likes,

and in an istant he will be there". "Give me the cap," said the youth, "I will go a
short distance off and when I call you, you must run a race, and the cap shall
belong to the one who gets first to me." He put it on and went away, and
thought of the king's daughter, forgot the giants and walked continually onward.
At length he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, "Ah, if I were
but at the Castle of the Golden Sun," and hardly had the words passed his lips
than he was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.
He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the
king's daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashengray Face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. "Are you the King's
daughter whose beauty the whole world praises? cried

he. "Ah" she

answered, "this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of
ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror it does not
let itself be misled it will show thee my image as it is in truth." She gave him
the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful
maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks
with grief. Then said he, "How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger." She
said, "He who gets the crystall ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will
destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. "Ah," she added,
"so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou are so young; I
grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger." "Nothing can keep me
from doing it," said he, "but tell me what I must do." "Thou shalt know
everything," said the King's daughter, "when thou descendest the mountain on
which the stands , a wild bull will stand below by a spring , and thou must fight
with it , and if thou hast the luck to kill it , a fiery bird will spring out of it ,
which bears in its body a burning egg , and in the egg the crystall ball lies like
a yolk. The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it
falls on the ground , it will flame up and burn everything

that is near , and

melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have
been in vain."
The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowed at
him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal's body, and it fell
down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about to fly away, but the
young man's brother, the eagle, who was passing between the clouds, swooped
down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it with his beak until, in its
extremity, it let the egg fall. The egg did not , however, fall into the sea , but on
a fisherman's hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at once to smoke
and was about to break out in flames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a
house, they streamed over the hut, and subduced the fire. The other brother, the
whale, had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high.
When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found
it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenly cooled
with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.
When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the latter said,
"My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art the king of theCastle
of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise give back to thy brothers their
human form." Then the youth hastened to the king's daughter, and when he
entered the room, she was standing there in the full splendour of her beauty, and
joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.