"'Now you can go,' repeated the princess after him, like a parrot.
"The people obeyed her, and went.
"Presently a little wave flowed over the stone, and wetted one of the prince's knees. But he did not mind it much. He began to sing, and the song he sang was this:—
"'As a world that has no well,
Darkly bright in forest-dell:
As a world without the gleam
Of the downward-going stream;
As a world without the glance
Of the ocean's fair expanse;
As a world where never rain
Glittered on the sunny plain,—
Such, my heart, thy world would be,
If no love did flow in thee.
"'As a world without the sound
Of the rivulets under ground;
Or the bubbling of the spring
Out of darkness wandering;
Or the mighty rush and flowing
Of the river's downward going;
Or the music-showers that drop
On the out-spread beech's top;
Or the ocean's mighty voice,
When his lifted waves rejoice,—
Such my soul, thy world would be,
If no love did sing in thee.
"'Lady, keep thy world's delight;
Keep the waters in thy sight;
Love hath made me strong to go,
For thy sake, to realms below,
Where the water's shine and hum
Through the darkness never come
Let, I pray, one thought of me
Spring, a little well, in thee;
Lest thy loveless soul be found
Like the dry and thirsty ground.'
"'Sing again, prince. It makes it less tedious,' said the princess.
"But the prince was too much overcome to sing any more. And a long pause followed.
"'This is very kind of you, prince,' said the princess at last, quite coolly, as she lay in the boat with her eyes shut.
"' I am sorry I can't return the compliment,' thought the prince; 'but you are worth dying for, after all.'