Produced by Jason Isbell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net TOLD TO THE CHILDREN SERIES EDITED BY LOUEY CHISHOLM [Illustration: On the threshold stood a little maiden.] Friedrich de la Motte Fouquee UNDINE TOLD TO THE CHILDREN BY MARY MACGREGOR WITH PICTURES BY KATHARINE CAMERON LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. * * * * * TO MARGARET * * * * * ABOUT THIS BOOK Undine is the name of the water maiden whose story you will read as you turn the leaves of this little book. Undine is beautiful as the dawn stealing across the waters, beautiful as the spray of the crystal waves. Yet when she comes to earth she comes to seek for that without which her beauty will be for ever cold, cold and chill as the surge of the salt, salt sea. Look deep into her blue eyes and you will see why her beauty is so cold, so chill. In the eyes of every mortal you may see a soul. In the gay blue eyes of Undine, look you long and never so deep, no soul will look forth to meet your gaze. Love, joy, sorrow, these are the pearls that shine in the eyes of every mortal. But in the eyes of the water maiden there is no gleam of love, no sparkle of joy, no tear of sorrow. Undine has come to earth to seek for a soul. Without one she may never know the golden gifts God has given to each mortal, gifts these of love, joy, sorrow. You will read in this little book how Undine, the water maiden, won for herself a human soul. MARY MACGREGOR. CONTENTS Chap. I. The Fisherman and the Knight II. Undine is Lost III. Undine is Found IV. The Knight's Story V. The Knight stays at the Cottage VI. The Wedding VII. Undine's Story VIII. Huldbrand and Undine leave the Cottage IX. The Knight returns to the City X. The Birthday Feast XI. The Journey to Castle Ringstetten XII. Castle Ringstetten XIII. The Black Valley XIV. Huldbrand forgets his Promise XV. Huldbrand and Bertalda XVI. Bertalda's Wedding XVII. The Burial LIST OF PICTURES On the threshold stood a little maiden _Frontispiece_ Amid the sweet-scented grass, safe from the fury of the storm 'I saw in a great cavern a group of little goblins' In the little cottage were heard the solemn words of the marriage service The three travellers soon reached the leafy shades of the forest At the sound of his voice the girl burst into tears The little waves seemed to sob as they whispered, 'Alas! alas!' Slowly, slowly there rose out of the mouth of the well a white figure CHAPTER I THE FISHERMAN AND THE KNIGHT