And if thou comest hither, then will I be thine,
My crown I will gladly give thee.”
The young man listened to her song, and understood from it that he was to go in the night and deliver the princess. He therefore went away without appearing to notice anything. But when it was late, and all were sunk in deep sleep, he steadily approached the tower, placed himself before the window, and sang:—
“To-night will wait thy herdsman true,
Will sad stand under thy window;
And if thou comest down, thou mayest one day be mine,
While the shadows fall so wildly.”
The princess whispered: “I am bound with chains of gold, come and break them.” The young man now knew no other course than again to blow with his pipe a very long-continued strain; when instantly he heard a voice behind him saying “Good evening.” “Good evening again,” answered the youth, looking round; when there stood the little elf-king, from whom he had got the little bell and the pipe. “What wilt thou with me?” inquired the old man. The young man answered: “I beseech you to convey me and the princess hence.” The little man said “Follow me.” They then ascended to the maiden’s tower; the castle gate opened spontaneously, and when the old man touched the chain, it burst in fragments. All three then went down to the margin of the lake, when the elf-king sang:—
“Thou little pike in the water must go,
Come, come, hastily!