h the handsome prince to the
beach, which was covered with fine white sand, and there she laid him in
the warm sunshine, taking care to raise his head higher than his body.
Then bells sounded in the large white building, and some young girls
came into the garden. The little mermaid swam out farther from the shore
and hid herself among some high rocks that rose out of the water.
Covering her head and neck with the foam of the sea, she watched there
to see what would become of the poor prince.

It was not long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where the
prince lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then
she brought a number of people, and the mermaid saw that the prince came
to life again and smiled upon those who stood about him. But to her he
sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very
sorrowful, and when he was led away into the great building, she dived
down into the water and returned to her father's castle.

She had always been silent and thoughtful, and now she was more so than
ever. Her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to
the surface of the water, but she could tell them nothing. Many an
evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the
prince. She saw the fruits in the garden ripen and watched them
gathered; she watched the snow on the mountain tops melt away; but never
did she see the prince, and therefore she always returned home more
sorrowful than before.

It was her only comfort to sit in her own little garden and fling her
arm around the beautiful marble statue, which was like the prince. She
gave up tending her flowers, and they grew in wild confusion over the
paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the
trees so that the whole place became dark and gloomy.

At length she could bear it no longer and told one of her sisters all
about it. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became
known to several mermaids, one of whom had an intimate friend who
happened to know about the prince. She had also seen the festival on
board ship, and she told them where the prince came from and where his
palace stood.

"Come, little sister," said the other princesses. Then they entwined
their arms and rose together to the surface of the water, near the spot
where they knew the prince's palace stood. It was built of
bright-yellow, shining stone and had long flights of marble steps, one