Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/102

 impulse drew him towards the waterfall; and yet, when he came near it, a still more powerful feeling of bashfulness stayed his steps, and he remained just within the wood, his gaze fixed with rapture on the beauteous vision before him.

The object of his admiration was no less a person than the daughter of the Silesian monarch, whose sceptre at that period swayed the Riesengeberg, among the groves of which beautiful district it was her wont often to take a stroll, attended by the maidens of her court, for the purpose of gathering sweet-smelling herbs or flowers, or, after the homely fashion of those days, of collecting wild cherries or strawberries for her father’s private table. At times, when the weather was warmer than usual, she would repair to the waterfall and refresh herself with a bath; and on one of these occasions it was that the gnome king fell in love with her.

Well, there he stood, fixed by a resistless charm, until at last the all-unconscious Princess departed with her attendants, making the wood resound with their merry voices. The enamoured spirit did not venture to follow, but instinctively persuaded that ere long she would return to the same spot, he took up his position there, day after day, impatiently awaiting her benign presence. At the expiration of a week, amid the noontide heat of a glowing summer’s day, the Princess and her suite again sought the pleasant