In the dark room, the baby is being nursed. The baby is a fishball, which is the custom of the merpeople, and the man who gave the egg to the baby must have been a man or a woman, according to custom. The man who took the egg, however, did not give the baby a food, so the baby has no food to eat. The father is confused, as he is supposed to be taking care of the baby. He does not know what happened, and he does not want the baby to be caught in the act of helping him. He tells the father to forget about it, as it is more important to him that the baby not know about what happened. He promises to distract the father and cover for him. When the father opens the door, he finds that there is no food in the egg. He wonders how he can make the baby out of the empty shell. He threatens the father with the pearl, but the father does not believe him.