He was not wrong, for the health of the prince soon began to improve, his appetite grew better, and he was able to sleep at night. At last he confided the sorrow of his heart to his parents, and his father wished him to seek out another young bride to lead home; but the prince would not listen to the proposal. The young man had already passed a year in mourning, when one day he happened to come to the bridge where he had lost his betrothed, and bitter tears rose to his eyes at the recollection. [Pg 221] Suddenly he heard a sweet voice singing, although no living creature was in sight. And the voice sang: "By the mother's curse o'ertaken, Sank in flood the hapless maiden, In the watery grave the fair one, And in Ahti's [132] waves thy darling." The prince dismounted from his horse, and looked round everywhere to see whether some one might not be hidden under the bridge, but he could see no singer anywhere. The only object visible was a water-lily, swaying on the water amid its broad leaves. But a swaying flower could not sing, and there must be something mysterious about it. He tied his horse to a stump on the bank, and sat down on the bridge to listen, hoping that his eyes or ears would give him some solution of the riddle. All was still for a while, but presently the invisible singer sang again: "By the mother's curse o'ertaken, Sank in flood the hapless maiden, In the watery grave the fair one, And in Ahti's waves thy darling."