"'My dear,' said she, 'I am, as you see, a mermaid. I happened to come on shore last night just to do a little knitting by the light of the moon, when up came a big storm, and the waves gave me a great toss over these rocks and into this hole. But the worst of it is I have lost my spectacles, and my poor back is nearly broken, and one fin's out of joint, and I've lost a knitting-needle and my back comb. Now if you would kindly carry me to the edge of the rocks and throw me in, I think I could reach home, but, as you may notice, I don't get along very well upon land.'
"The Prince was too good-natured to refuse, so he lifted her carefully, and drawing her long hair after him climbed with his queer load to the top of the cliff. Here he gave her a mighty cast, and away she went fifty feet down into the sea with her green hair sailing after her. The moment she felt the water she rolled over and kissing her fin to Prince Ali sculled away as cleverly as could be.
"The Prince said nothing about this adventure, but felt sorry that he had not asked her some questions, for you must know that whenever he asked questions of the people who waited on him, and taught him, they were very apt to say, 'Oh don't bother me! I'm busy,' so that there were many things which he desired to learn and could not.
"From this day forward he spent all of his time upon the shore and among the rocks. At last one evening he saw a large white crested wave rolling in, and on a sudden out of it paddled the mermaid. She sculled up the sand and rolling over on her back said to the Prince, 'My dear I can never thank you enough. If the doctors had been quicker about getting my flapper well I should have been here long ago.'
"'You are most welcome,' returned Ali, 'and the more so because perhaps you can tell me who I am.'
"'Sir!' said she, 'You are a King's son. Your parents are dead, and your uncle has put you here for fear that you may wish to take the kingdom away from his daughter the Princess Jessalie who is the most beautiful woman in the world. She also is a prisoner within the gardens of her Palace because it has been foretold that whenever she marries, her Father the King will die.'
"'Would that I could see her!' said the Prince.
"'Sir!' replied the mermaid, 'to-morrow I will bring you her picture, and meanwhile here are some trifles which my children have sent you as tokens of their gratitude.'
"Thus saying she shook her head and a double handful of pearls fell from her hair and dropped at the feet of the Prince, after which the mermaid tumbled into the water and swam deftly away.
"The next morning early Ali went to the beach and found the mermaid waiting with a large piece of crystal in her flappers.