The maiden blushed and answered : ` Ah , my lord , it is long since I first beheld your face , but I did not think you had ever seen mine . ' ` Oh , madam , ' replied he , ` you can never guess the days and the hours I have passed lost in admiration of you . ' And after these words they each related all the strange things that had happened , and the more they talked the more they felt convinced of the truth of the images they had seen in their mirrors . After some time spent in the most tender conversation , the Prince could not restrain himself from asking the lovely unknown by what lucky chance she was wandering in the forest ; where the fountain had gone ; and if she knew anything of the Frog to whom he owed all his happiness , and to whom he must give up the bird , which , somehow or other , was still sound asleep . ` Ah , my lord , ' she replied , with rather an awkward air , ` as to the Frog , she stands before you . Let me tell you my story ; it is not a long one . I know neither my country nor my parents , and the only thing I can say for certain is that I am called Serpentine . The fairies , who have taken care of me ever since I was born , wished me to be in ignorance as to my family , but they have looked after my education , and have bestowed on me endless kindness . I have always lived in seclusion , and for the last two years I have wished for nothing better . I had a mirror ' -- here shyness and embarrassment choked her words -- but regaining her self-control , she added , ` You know that fairies insist on being obeyed without questioning . It was they who changed the little house you saw before you into the fountain for which you are now asking , and , having turned me into a frog , they ordered me to say to the first person who came to the fountain exactly what I repeated to you . But , my lord , when you stood before me , it was agony to my heart , filled as it was with thoughts of you , to appear to your eyes under so monstrous a form . However , there was no help for it , and , painful as it was , I had to submit . I desired your success with all my soul , not only for your own sake , but also for my own , because I could not get back my proper shape till you had become master of the beautiful bird , though I am quite ignorant as to your reason for seeking it . ' On this Saphir explained about the state of his father 's health , and all that has been told before . On hearing this story Serpentine grew very sad , and her lovely eyes filled with tears . ` Ah , my lord , ' she said , ` you know nothing of me but what you have seen in the mirror ; and I , who can not even name my parents , learn that you are a king 's son . ' In vain Saphir declared that love made them equal ; Serpentine would only reply : ' I love you too much to allow you to marry beneath your rank . I shall be very unhappy , of course , but I shall never alter my mind . If I do not find from the fairies that my birth is worthy of you , then , whatever be my feelings , I will never accept your hand . '
The conversation was at this point , and bid fair to last some time longer , when one XXXXX the fairies appeared in her ivory car , accompanied by a beautiful woman past her early youth .
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