The King and the Queen were glad and they were sorry. They liked the bearing and manner of the young Prince, and they knew that he was the sovereign of the richest kingdom in that part of the world. They were glad to have their daughter become his queen, but it did seem hard that they should not have her to themselves for a while after the time had come when they could enjoy her without having to guard her and watch her so carefully. At last the King said:-- “If it is the wish of our daughter, we will give her to you for your bride, but you must first leave her with us for a year and a day that we may accustom ourselves to the thought of losing her.” Of course the Prince could only agree to so moderate a condition as this. Then they told him the story of the mermaid’s curse, and that on her first day of freedom no one but her father and her mother were to see her; and he went away to wait impatiently until her birthday should have passed. Now when the Star Princess left the ballroom and went to her own room, two of the nurses went with her as usual. She had little to say, for her thoughts were all on the young Prince and his words to her. “The sun--the sea,” she said to herself; “what can they mean?” Then she remembered that he had said, “Look out of your window at sunrise and you will see it.” Just what “sunrise” meant, she did not know; but whatever it might be, she meant to look out of the window just once before the nurses put back the band over her eyes. She said to one of them:-- “Nurse, I am so thirsty. Will you get me some water from the north side of the well that is on the north side of the palace.” For a moment the nurse hesitated. Then she said to herself, “The servants are not up yet, and it would be a pity to call one just for this. To-day is her eighteenth birthday, and nothing can harm her now,” so one nurse started to go down the stairs. The other nurse was putting away the opal-like gown and the diamond star and the ropes of pearls. She stepped into another room for a moment, and the Star Princess quickly pulled the curtains apart and took her first look at the sunrise and the sea. She gazed and gazed at them. It was all so beautiful that she could not turn away, and when the nurse came back, there she stood. “O my Princess,” the nurse exclaimed, “what have you done, what have you done!” Just then the bell on the castle rang, “One--two--three--four!” It was four o’clock in the morning, and the Star Princess was full eighteen years of age. Then the nurse thought, “Ten thousand broad pieces of gold is a great deal to lose. It was only a moment before the time, and surely no harm is done. Perhaps it will never be known.” She concluded to say nothing about the matter, and to the Star Princess she said, “I thought you must have hurt yourself, and I was frightened. Now go to your bed and rest awhile, for to-day you are to be happier than ever before.”