Unluckily , the mermaid happened at that moment to be floating on the water not very far off , and knew he was the boy who had been given her before he was born . So she floated gently in to where he was lying , she seized him by the arm , and the waves closed over them both . Hardly had they disappeared , when the Red Knight stole cautiously up , and could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the king 's sword on the bank . He wondered what had become of the youth , who an hour before had guarded his treasure so fiercely ; but , after all , that was no affair of his ! So , fastening the sword to his belt , he carried it to the king . The war was soon over , and the king returned to his people , who welcomed him with shouts of joy . But when the princess from her window saw that her betrothed was not among the attendants riding behind her father , her heart sank , for she knew that some evil must have befallen him , and she feared the Red Knight . She had long ago learned how clever and how wicked he was , and something whispered to her that it was he who would gain the credit of having carried back the sword , and would claim her as his bride , though he had never even entered her chamber . And she could do nothing ; for although the king loved her , he never let her stand in the way of his plans . The poor princess was only too right , and everything came to pass exactly as she had foreseen it . The king told her that the Red Knight had won her fairly , and that the wedding would take place next day , and there would be a great feast after it . In those days feasts were much longer and more splendid than they are now ; and it was growing dark when the princess , tired out with all she had gone through , stole up to her own room for a little quiet . But the moon was shining so brightly over the sea that it seemed to draw her towards it , and taking her violin under her arm , she crept down to the shore . ` Listen ! listen ! said the mermaid to the prince , who was lying stretched on a bed of seaweeds at the bottom of the sea . ` Listen ! that is your old love playing , for mermaids know everything that happens upon earth . ' ' I hear nothing , ' answered the youth , who did not look happy . ` Take me up higher , where the sounds can reach me . '
XXXXX the mermaid took him on her shoulders and bore him up midway to the surface .
So as at before behind from of over to with