"I am happier with thee than ever happy girl was with seen lover," replied Psyche, "but my parents and my sisters are yet in sorrow over my fate, and my heart tells me it is selfishness for me to be so happy while they grieve for me."
At last, her husband gave a reluctant consent to her request, and on the very next day, the West Wind, [Footnote: The winds, four in number, were the sons of Aeolus, god of the storm and of winds. Their names were Boreas, the north wind; Zephyrus, the west wind; Auster, the south wind, and Eurus, the east wind.] who had brought Psyche to this retreat, brought her two sisters and set them down at her door. Joyfully Psyche led them in, and she commanded her invisible servants to serve them with the finest foods and entertain them with the most exquisite music. After the meal was over, the happy girl conducted them about the palace and pointed out to them all its treasures. She was not proud or boastful; she only wanted to show them how kind and thoughtful her husband was. But the sights that met their eyes filled them with envy, and when Psyche left the room to make some further plans for their comfort, one said to the other:
"Is it not unendurable that this girl, who was left unsought in our father's house for years, should be living in such splendor? I shall hate the sight of my own palace when I return."
"Yes," sighed the other, "all the polished oaken furnishings of which I was so proud will be worthless in my eyes after seeing Psyche's magnificent ivory and gold. And she is our younger sister!"
"Do you notice," said the elder sister, "that while she says much about what her husband does for her, she says nothing at all about him? But wait—here she comes—say nothing, and I will question her."
Happy, innocent Psyche, never doubting that her sisters were as pleased at her good fortune as she would have been at theirs, came to lead them to another room, but her sister detained her.
"Stay," she said, "we have something to ask of you. About all the splendors of your palace you have talked; you have told us at great length about your husband's goodness to you. But not a word about his looks or his age or his occupation have you said. See, sister! She blushes! Shy girl, she has been unwilling to speak of him until we spoke first."
"No doubt," said the other sister, "she has saved until the last her description of him, since he is the best part of her life here."
Poor Psyche knew not what to say. How should she confess that, after these many months, she had never seen her husband; that she knew not at all what manner of man he was?
"Why, he's a young man," she replied hesitatingly, "a very young man, and he spends much of his time hunting on the mountains."