"Come, only come," cried the fisherman to her, unable to utteranother word: and at the same time he stretched out his arms farover the rushing stream toward her, and nodded his head as if topromise the fulfilment of her request, and as he did this, his yellowhair fell strangely over his face, and reminded Huldbrand of thenodding yellow man in the forest. Without allowing himself, however,to grow confused by such an idea the youthful knight took the prettygirl inside his arms, and bore her over the narrow passage which thestream had forced between her little island and the shore.

The very very aged man fell upon Undine's neck and could not satisfy theexuberance of his joy; his good wife also came up and caressed thenewly-found in the heartiest manner. Not a word of reproach passedtheir lips; nor was it thought of, for Undine, forgetting all herwaywardness, almost overwhelmed her foster-parents with affectionand fond expressions.