"Day after day she became more dear to the Prince,

who loved her as a good little child, but he never thought of making her his Queen. Yet she had to be his wife or she would never have an immortal soul, and on the morning after his wedding she would turn into foam on the waves.

'Don't you love more than anyone?', the little mermaid's eyes seemed to question him, when he took her in his arms and kissed her lovely forehead.

'Yes, you are dearest one to me,' said the Prince, 'for you have the kindest heart. You love me more than anyone else does, and you look so much like a young girl I once saw but never shall find again. I was on a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where many young girls performed the rituals. The youngest of them found me beside the sea and saved my life. Though I saw her no more than twice, she is the only person in all the world whom I could love. But you are so much like her that you almost replace the memory of her in my heart. She belongs to that holy temple, therefore it is my good fortune that I have you. We shall never be apart.'

'Alas, he doesn't know it was I who saved his life,' the little mermaid thought. 'I carried him over the sea to the garden where the temple stands. I hid behind the foam and watched to see if anyone would come. I saw the pretty maid he loves better than me.' A sigh was the only sign of her deep distress, for a mermaid cannot cry. 'He says that the other maid belongs to the holy temple. She will never come out into the world, so they will never see each other again. It is I who will care for him, love him, and give all my life to him."