The Water of the Wondrous Isles · Chapter
XIV: Of Birdalone's Fishing explained
Birdalone goes fishing at the witch-wife's command, but secretly hides her serpent-ring in her hair before departing.
What happens
Birdalone goes fishing at the witch-wife's command, but secretly hides her serpent-ring in her hair before departing. The witch searches Birdalone's clothes while she is swimming but finds nothing. Birdalone enjoys a peaceful time on the eyot, catching fish and playing with birds, before returning home.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the three l…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Female Agency and Autonomy
Birdalone exercises cunning and independence by hiding her ring and enjoying her time on the eyot despite the witch's surveillance.
- Nature and the Wild
The chapter vividly depicts Birdalone's interaction with the natural world, including swimming, fishing, and playing with birds on the eyot.
Characters to notice
- Birdalone
Birdalone goes fishing, hides her serpent-ring in her hair, and enjoys a moment of freedom on the eyot.
- The Witch Wife
The witch-wife sends Birdalone fishing, searches her clothes, and watches her suspiciously.
Key passages
“Now were the days wearing toward wheat-harvest, and nought befell to tell of, save that on a morn the witch-wife called Birdalone to her, and said: Now is little to be done till the wheat is ready for the hook, and thy days are idle; or what is that word that fell from thee that other day, that there be good swims for fish about the eyots?”
As harvest time approached, the witch-wife told Birdalone she had little to do and suggested she go fishing at the eyots, as Birdalone had mentioned earlier.
The witch-wife initiates the fishing trip, using Birdalone's own words to set the task.
“She undid the bosom of her gown, and took forth her serpent-ring; for she bore it next to her skin, made fast to the bosom of her smock; but now she hid it carefully in the thickest of her brow-hair, which was very thick and soft.”
Birdalone removed her serpent-ring from its hiding place on her smock and concealed it in her thick hair.
Birdalone's cunning act of hiding the ring shows her wariness of the witch.
“Birdalone looked through the willow-boughs, and saw her turn away; then she fared to her fishing with a smile, and soon had plenteous catch from under the willow-boughs.”
After the witch left, Birdalone smiled and began fishing, quickly catching many fish.
Birdalone's relief and enjoyment are evident once the witch departs.
