When she went into the prince's house, rich and beautiful clothes were brought to her. She was lovelier than all the people who lived there. But she could not speak or sing. This made her sad. She knew that the prince loved to hear singing.
But the young prince said to her, "You shall always be with me."
And he told his servants to bring her some more clothes. Then she went riding through the woods with him. She went up lovely hills with him. Her feet gave her great pain all the time, but she never told anyone. At night she put her feet in the cold water of the sea near the prince's house. Then she thought about those whom she loved down in the sea.
One night, as she was putting her feet in the water, her sisters came. They were very sad.
"Everyone in our father's house is sad because you have gone away, " they told her.
From this time the five sisters came every night. Once they brought their old grandmother. Another time they brought their father, the great Sea King. But there two old people did not go near the land. So they could not speak to the little princess.
The young prince loved the sea princess more and more every day. "You are very beautiful," her said. But he never thought about making her his wife. But she must be his wife or she would die.
"Do you not love me more than all others?" her eyes asked the prince as he kissed her.
"Yes, I do," said the prince. "I love you more than any other. You are so kind and so good, and you love me so much. You are so like a young girl whom I once saw. I was on a ship which became filled with water. The sea threw me up on the land near a large white house. There were many girls in the house, and the youngest of them found me. She saved me from dying. I saw her just once. But I shall always remember her."
"He does not know that I saved him," the little sea princess thought sadly. " I took him over the sea to the large white house and I waited for someone to find him there. I saw the pretty young girl whom he loves more than me. But he has not seen her again. And I am always with him. I see him every day. I will love him and make him happy."
One day the little sea princess heard the prince's servants speaking.
"The prince is going to marry a beautiful princess who lives in the next country," they said. "He is going to the princess in a beautiful ship."
But the little sea princess knew what the prince wanted to do.
"I must go," he said to her. "I must go and see the beautiful princess. My father and mother want me to do this. But they will not make me marry her. I shall not marry her because I cannot love her, for she is not like you. You are so much like the beautiful girl in the large white house."
And he kissed her face and took her in his arms. The little sea princess knew then how happy people could be.
"You are not afraid of the sea, are you?" asked the prince. They stood near to each other in the beautiful ship which was taking them to the princess. And the young prince talked to her about the sea and the fishes in it.
At night, when everyone on the ship was sleeping, the sea princess sat and looked down into the sea. She saw her sisters come up and out of the water. They looked sadly at her and put out their hands to her. She looked at them but she could not speak. She could not tell them that she was very happy.