On hearing this, the widow thought that her child might be among the little loved ones. She fell on her knees, and implored the mermaid to tell her if she had seen the little girl who played on the sands every day. “Yes, I certainly know where she is,” replied the mermaid, “she grows and prospers with thousands of other children in my crystal palace at the bottom of the deep blue sea. She is happier than any child on earth.”
With a fresh outburst of weeping the mother begged the mermaid to restore to her her child. The water queen answered her that she was touched by her grief, but that the sea never returned alive the mortals it took away. The only thing she could do for the poor mother was to allow her to descend with her to her watery palace in order to see her child.
“Will you have the courage,” she added doubtfully, “to follow me on the mighty ocean for a hundred hours towards the West, and to dive with me where the sea is deepest, far down beneath the waves?”
“I have the courage,” answered the mother; “I am ready to follow you.”
Then the mermaid swam ashore near the sand-hill. She
EVERY MORNING THE MERMAID LOOKED IN AT THE WINDOW
told the widow to seat herself on her green and scaly fish’s tail, then she swam away faster than the fastest ship over the surface of the water. The boundless sea was soon plunged in the darkness of night as they continued their journey towards the West.