Undine | Page 9

turned out, however, exactly as the fisherman had said. No Undine
could they hear or see; and as the old man would on no account consent
that Huldbrand should go in quest of the fugitive, they were both
obliged at last to return into the cottage. There they found the fire on
the hearth almost gone out, and the mistress of the house, who took
Undine's flight and danger far less to heart than her husband, had
already gone to rest. The old man blew up the coals, put on dry wood,
and by the firelight hunted for a flask of wine, which he brought and set
between himself and his guest.
"You, sir knight, as well as I," said he, "are anxious on the silly girl's

account; and it would be better, I think, to spend part of the night in
chatting and drinking, than keep turning and turning on our rush-mats,
and trying in vain to sleep. What is your opinion?"
Huldbrand was well pleased with the plan; the fisherman pressed him
to take the empty seat of honour, its late occupant having now left it for
her couch; and they relished their beverage and enjoyed their chat as
two such good men and true ever ought to do. To be sure, whenever the
slightest thing moved before the windows, or at times when even
nothing was moving, one of them would look up and exclaim, "Here
she comes!" Then would they continue silent a few moments, and
afterward, when nothing appeared, would shake their heads, breathe out
a sigh, and go on with their talk.
But, as neither could think of anything but Undine, the best plan they
could devise was, that the old fisherman should relate, and the knight
should hear, in what manner Undine had come to the cottage. So the
fisherman began as follows:
"It is now about fifteen years since I one day crossed the wild forest
with fish for the city market. My wife had remained at home as she was
wont to do; and at this time for a reason of more than common interest,
for although we were beginning to feel the advances of age, God had
bestowed upon us an infant of wonderful beauty. It was a little girl; and
we already began to ask ourselves the question, whether we ought not,
for the advantage of the new-comer, to quit our solitude, and, the better
to bring up this precious gift of Heaven, to remove to some more
inhabited place. Poor people, to be sure, cannot in these cases do all
you may think they ought, sir knight; but we must all do what we can.
"Well, I went on my way, and this affair would keep running in my
head. This slip of land was most dear to me, and I trembled when,
amidst the bustle and broils of the city, I thought to myself, 'In a scene
of tumult like this, or at least in one not much more quiet, I must soon
take up my abode.' But I did not for this murmur against our good God;
on the contrary, I praised Him in silence for the new- born babe. I
should also speak an untruth, were I to say that anything befell me,
either on my passage through the forest to the city, or on my returning

homeward, that gave me more alarm than usual, as at that time I had
never seen any appearance there which could terrify or annoy me. The
Lord was ever with me in those awful shades."
Thus speaking he took his cap reverently from his bald head, and
continued to sit for a considerable time in devout thought. He then
covered himself again, and went on with his relation.
"On this side the forest, alas! it was on this side, that woe burst upon
me. My wife came wildly to meet me, clad in mourning apparel, and
her eyes streaming with tears. 'Gracious God!' I cried, 'where's our child?
Speak!'
"'With Him on whom you have called, dear husband,' she answered,
and we now entered the cottage together, weeping in silence. I looked
for the little corpse, almost fearing to find what I was seeking; and then
it was I first learnt how all had happened.
"My wife had taken the little one in her arms, and walked out to the
shore of the lake. She there sat down by its very brink; and while she
was playing with the infant, as free from all fear as she was full of
delight, it bent forward on a sudden, as if seeing something very
beautiful in the water. My wife saw her laugh, the dear angel, and try to
catch the image in her tiny hands; but in a moment--with a motion