In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die." Andthen they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath thewaves.
  The little mermaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent,and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince'sbreast. She bent down and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the skyon which the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced atthe sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whisperedthe name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, andthe knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid: then she flungit far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where itfell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast onemore lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, and then threwherself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body wasdissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and his warmrays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feelas if she were dying. She saw the bright sun, and all around herfloated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings; she could seethrough them the white sails of the ship, and the red clouds in thesky; their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to be heard bymortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. The littlemermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, and that shecontinued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. "Where am I?"asked she, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those whowere with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
  "Among the daughters of the air," answered one of them. "A mermaidhas not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins thelove of a human being. On the power of another hangs her eternaldestiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess animmortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves.We fly to warm countries, and cool the sultry air that destroysmankind with the pestilence. We carry the perfume of the flowers tospread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundredyears to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul andtake part in the happiness of mankind. You, poor little mermaid,have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you havesuffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by yourgood deeds; and now, by striving for three hundred years in the sameway, you may obtain an immortal soul."
  The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun,and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, inwhich she had left the prince, there were life and noise; she sawhim and his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully theygazed at the pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herselfinto the waves. Unseen she kissed the forehead of her bride, andfanned the prince, and then mounted with the other children of the airto a rosy cloud that floated through the aether.
  "After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdomof heaven," said she. "And we may even get there sooner," whisperedone of her companions. "Unseen we can enter the houses of men, wherethere are children, and for every day on which we find a good child,who is the joy of his parents and deserves their love, our time ofprobation is shortened. The child does not know, when we fly throughthe room, that we smile with joy at his good conduct, for we can countone year less of our three hundred years. But when we see a naughty ora wicked child, we shed tears of sorrow, and for every tear a day isadded to our time of trial!"