(unlabelled)
in the meanwhile prince dorion, distracted with grief, was trying in every way to dig down deep enough to rescue his beloved bride. but the stones would not yield. he had seen his darling disappear in the hands of the hideous black dwarf, and he often came to that place to mourn. night after night he visited it, hoping a miracle would restore ethelda to him there. but all day he searched the world for her.
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the earth, mortified by this outrage to her hospitality, tried to help him. her granddaughters, the mermaids, had sought information from every part of the globe, but as yet without success. the moon princess had disappeared from the face of the earth completely. the year passed, and sorrowful and sick at heart the sun prince bade his companions adieu. he determined to abide upon the earth until he found ethelda. what was his amazement, therefore, when the knights and maidens refused to leave him. they would wait with him, they said. the loss of his bride had bound them more closely together. the sun’s rays looked down appealingly and the moon ladder glittered temptingly, but they bravely turned their eyes away. they built a beautiful city near the ocean, where they could see the moon ladder more plainly, but they had lost the right to climb its shining steps, for the twelve months had expired.
prince dorion searched every day for his bride. he consulted a wise witch living alone in a deep forest, but she shook her head sadly, and always replied in these curious words:—
“search as you please,
but not among trees
shall the fair princess be found.
go from the water
to the moon’s daughter;
there lies she in prison bound!”
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never a word more would she utter, and the poor prince would puzzle himself about how he could reach the princess. but he continued his search. he would often go to the spot where his beloved had disappeared. a stately tree, as slender as the princess, had sprung up there. its waving green branches swayed gently, and stretched out with delicate, tender leaves. its trunk wore the white and silver dress of the moon maiden, and stood like a ghost to mark the place.
the earth people ever after called it the silver birch. at its foot a beautiful little spring had bubbled up, and its crystal-clear waters had formed a tiny stream that gurgled over the rocks, seeking to reach the sea. in its shining depths he sometimes saw the moon’s ladder, and he fancied the clear blue eyes of ethelda looked out wistfully at him. but it was only the blue patches of sky overhead.
one night, sad and depressed, he sat beside the ocean. the great throbbing sea seemed to soothe him a little. while he sat there thinking of ethelda, and almost despairing, a mermaid floated shoreward. resting her beautiful arms on the white gleaming sand, she spoke to him.
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“o, prince of the sun,” she began, “i have news for you—news of your lost bride.”
“news of my beloved ethelda?” cried the prince, joyously.
“yes,” answered the mermaid, “your ethelda is safe and unharmed. i have seen her.”
“you have seen her?” cried the prince. “o favored mermaid, take me to her at once.”
“mighty prince,” replied she, “i have come to show you the way. do you remember the bubbling stream you have often sat beside? it was formed from ethelda’s tears. those crystal drops arose even through the rocks to comfort you; but deeper down ran the stream, cutting into the earth until it formed a dark and gloomy river to lead you back to her. i found this stream and followed it—straight from the crystal spring into a dark and gloomy cave. there ethelda lives and waits for you.”
a moment more and prince dorion was swimming beside the little mermaid. they swam along the coast until a dark line showed them where the river joined the ocean. and after many a turn and twist in the black river, they reached ethelda’s cave.
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the moon princess sat within the vaulted star chamber alone. what a radiant creature she was! her silver halo surrounded her, and she was chanting in a musical voice the pretty words which had caused it to form. the sun prince’s eyes dwelt lovingly upon her, but he was amazed to see overhead the stars shining in the clear blue vault of heaven.
“ethelda,” he cried softly; and his heart leaped with love at the sight of his bride, and bounding forward he reached her side. in another moment she lay in his arms, sobbing and laughing for joy.
“beloved, you are unhurt?” he questioned anxiously.
“yes,” she answered, growing calmer. “i am unharmed; and in a way he was not unkind. but he wished me to marry him, and so kept me in this gloomy cave, hoping i would consent.
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“see, beloved, even the stars above us he stole to comfort me and win my love. every shooting star that fell from the heavens was brought here and placed in that high ceiling. they shine so brightly there that the blackness of the ceiling seems almost blue, and sometimes i almost believe i am gazing into the skies. but, beloved, nothing comforted me in your absence. i have sat weeping here, forming this river of tears to bring you to me.”
prince dorion pressed her tenderly to his breast at these words, and whispered: “dry your tears now, sweetheart, you will not need them longer, for i shall take you for ever away from this hideous prison.”
silently he carried her to the mermaid’s side, and softly they slipped away.
but before ethelda left, feeling herself safe again within her husband’s arms, she slipped out of the moon’s halo and left it in the famous star chamber of the black cave. there it stays for every one to see, lighting the room with its silver rays in company with the glorious stars which the black dwarf stole and placed there.
back again into the golden sunshine ethelda came, and once more the beautiful moon shone down caressingly upon her. freed from the black dwarf’s spell, and with her loved companions, she soon recovered from her long imprisonment, and was lovelier and more joyous than ever. she had almost forgotten those trying days and the black dwarf’s cruelty, but the earth queen had not.
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her majesty summoned the dwarf and all his wicked followers to court for trial, and he did not dare to disobey her summons. ethelda and the sun prince were invited to hear his sentence; and an awful punishment it was that was put upon him. he was condemned to live always in the dark cave where he had kept ethelda prisoner. with his followers he would never again be allowed to see the sun or the moon; never again could he behold the face of the earth.
the moon princess shuddered as she heard the dreadful sentence, for to her darkness was the worst of punishments. she turned to the earth queen and said impulsively: “oh, your majesty, be not so cruel! sentence them to anything rather than eternal darkness.”
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so the earth queen, listening to the tender pleadings of the gentle moon maiden, relented; but still the dwarf’s crime must not be dealt with lightly. she consented, however, to allow the culprits to see the sun and the moon, but they were destined to become the slaves of the mermaids, and live always in the water. then, fearing they might forget they were put into the water to expiate their crime (for the mermaids were kind-hearted and good), she changed them into fishes, and marked every one with the shining colors of the sun and moon. even now, if you notice carefully the pretty fish swimming in the sparkling water, you will see the fiery red color of the sun blending with the delicate silver tints of the moon. these markings of gold and silver they must carry for ever as evidence of their slavery, and in punishment of their wicked deed. in other respects they are not unhappy.
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ethelda and the sun prince dwelt always after upon the earth, but they loved it, as you know. the moon mother, looking down and seeing their joy, and how contented they were, gradually became reconciled to their remaining. as a proof of her forgiveness and friendliness to them and their descendants, she has left the moon ladder down. she has never taken it away since the night the bridal party walked down its shimmering silver stairs. every night, between the mystic hours of dusk and the rosy dawn, somewhere in the heavens, that splendid white palace is shining, and its bright ladder is stretching down in a flood of glory.
since then, maybe (who knows?) other moon maidens have walked down those jewelled steps to a honeymoon on the earth.
