Suppose she is what you think her , -- a mermaid : it is her delight to draw people into the water , where , of course , they drown . If she is what I think her , -- a sly , bad child , who sees that you are very simple , and who means to get taken care of without doing any thing useful , -- she will spoil you in a worse way than if you followed her into the sea . I 've got no little daughter of my own , and I want to keep you as safe and happy as if you were mine . I do n't like this girl , and I want you to give her up for my sake . Will you , Fancy ? '' While her uncle said these things , all the beauty seemed to fall away from her friend , all the sweetness from their love , and all her faith in the little dream which had made her so happy . Mermaids became treacherous , unlovely , unreal creatures ; and Lorelei seemed like a naughty , selfish child , who deceived her , and made her do wrong things . Her uncle had been very kind to her all her life ; and she loved him , was grateful , and wanted to show that she was , by pleasing him . But her heart clung to the friend she had made , trusted , and loved ; and it seemed impossible to give up the shadow , even though the substance was gone . She put her hands before her face for a moment ; then laid her arms about the old man 's neck , and whispered , with a little sob : `` I 'll give her up ; but you 'll be kind to her , because I was fond of her once . '' As the last word left Fancy 's lips , a long , sad cry sounded through the room ; Lorelei sprung in , gave her one kiss , and was seen to run swiftly toward the beach , wringing her hands . Fancy flew after ; but , when she reached the shore , there was nothing to be seen but the scattered pebbles , shells , and weeds that made the mock mermaid , floating away on a receding wave . `` Do you believe now ? '' cried Fancy , weeping bitterly , as she pointed to the wreck of her friend , and turned reproachfully toward Uncle Fact , who had followed in great astonishment . The old gentleman looked well about him ; then shook his head , and answered decidedly : `` No , my dear , I do n't . It 's an odd affair ; but , I 've no doubt , it will be cleared up in a natural way sometime or other . '' But there he was mistaken ; for this mystery never was cleared up . Other people soon forgot it , and Fancy never spoke of it ; yet she made very few friends , and , though she learned to love and value Uncle Fact as well as Aunt Fiction , she could not forget her dearest playmate . Year after year she came back to the sea-side ; and the first thing she always did was to visit the place where she used to play , and stretch her arms toward the sea , crying tenderly : `` O my little friend ! come back to me ! ''
But XXXXX never came again .
Lorelei Mermaids creatures fall first left love pebbles sea-side year