Otohime hearing these words, and feeling great sorrow, approached and laid her hands on her poor lover, and said to him:—
"I am not one of those bad, mischievous children; I am the daughter of the wealthy Hagiyama. And because I promised myself to you at the festival of Kitano Tenjin in Kyoto, I have come here to see you."
Astonished at hearing the voice of his sweet-heart, Shuntoku rose up quickly, and cried out: "Oh! are you really Otohime? It is a long time since we last met—but this is so strange! Is it not all a lie?"
And then, stroking each other, they could only cry, instead of speaking.
But presently Shuntoku, giving way to the excitement of his grief, cried out to Otohime: "A malediction has been laid upon me by my stepmother, and my appearance has been changed, as you see.
"Therefore never can I be united to you as your husband. Even as I now am, so must I remain until I fester to death.
"And so you must go back home at once, and live in happiness and splendor."
But she answered in great sorrow: "Never! Are you really in earnest? Are you truly in your right senses?
"No, no! I have disguised myself thus only because I loved you enough even to give my life for you.
"And now I will never leave you, no matter what may become of me in the future."