wimming in the river close by." Then she led
Eliza a little distance to a sloping bank, at the foot of which ran a
little river. The trees on its banks stretched their long leafy branches
across the water toward each other, and where they did not meet
naturally the roots had torn themselves away from the ground, so that
the branches might mingle their foliage as they hung over the water.

Eliza bade the old woman farewell and walked by the flowing river till
she reached the shore of the open sea. And there, before her eyes, lay
the glorious ocean, but not a sail appeared on its surface; not even a
boat could be seen. How was she to go farther? She noticed how the
countless pebbles on the shore had been smoothed and rounded by the
action of the water. Glass, iron, stones, everything that lay there
mingled together, had been shaped by the same power until they were as
smooth as her own delicate hand.

"The water rolls on without weariness," she said, "till all that is hard
becomes smooth; so will I be unwearied in my task. Thanks for your
lesson, bright rolling waves; my heart tells me you will one day lead me
to my dear brothers."

[Illustration: Eliza asked her if she had not seen eleven princes riding
through the forest....]

On the foam-covered seaweeds lay eleven white swan feathers, which she
gathered and carried with her. Drops of water lay upon them; whether
they were dewdrops or tears no one could say. It was lonely on the
seashore, but she did not know it, for the ever-moving sea showed more
changes in a few hours than the most varying lake could produce in a
whole year. When a black, heavy cloud arose, it was as if the sea
said, "I can look dark and angry too"; and then the wind blew, and the
waves turned to white foam as they rolled. When the wind slept and the
clouds glowed with the red sunset, the sea looked like a rose leaf.
Sometimes it became green and sometimes white. But, however quietly it
lay, the waves were always restless on the shore and rose and fell like
the breast of a sleeping child.

When the sun was about to set, Eliza saw eleven white swans, with golden
crowns on their heads, flying toward the land, one behind the other,
like a long white ribbon. She went down the slope from the shore and hid
herself behind the bushes. The swans alighted quite close to her,
flapping their great white wings. As soon as the sun had disappeared
under the water, the feathers of the swans fell off and eleven