To the right and left of the waterfall opened out a wonderful grotto , its walls and arches glittering with many-coloured rock-crystals , while in every niche were spread out strange fruits and sweetmeats , the very sight of which made the princess long to taste them . She hesitated a while , however , scarcely able to believe her eyes , and not knowing if she should enter the enchanted spot or fly from it . But at length curiosity prevailed , and she and her companions explored to their heart 's content , and tasted and examined everything , running hither and thither in high glee , and calling merrily to each other . At last , when they were quite weary , the princess cried out suddenly that nothing would content her but to bathe in the marble pool , which certainly did look very inviting ; and they all went gaily to this new amusement . The princess was ready first , but scarcely had she slipped over the rim of the pool when down -- down -- down she sank , and vanished in its depths before her frightened playmates could seize her by so much as a lock of her floating golden hair ! Loudly did they weep and wail , running about the brink of the pool , which looked so shallow and so clear , but which had swallowed up their princess before their eyes . They even sprang into the water and tried to dive after her , but in vain ; they only floated like corks in the enchanted pool , and could not keep under water for a second . They saw at last that there was nothing for it but to carry to the king the sad tidings of his beloved daughter 's disappearance . And what great weeping and lamentation there was in the palace when the dreadful news was told ! The king tore his robes , dashed his golden crown from his head , and hid his face in his purple mantle for grief and anguish at the loss of the princess . After the first outburst of wailing , however , he took heart and hurried off to see for himself the scene of this strange adventure , thinking , as people will in sorrow , that there might be some mistake after all . But when he reached the spot , behold , all was changed again ! The glittering grotto described to him by the maidens had completely vanished , and so had the marble bath , the bower of jasmine ; instead , all was a tangle of flowers , as it had been of old . The king was so much perplexed that he threatened the princess 's playfellows with all sorts of punishments if they would not confess something about her disappearance ; but as they only repeated the same story he presently put down the whole affair to the work of some sprite or goblin , and tried to console himself for his loss by ordering a grand hunt ; for kings can not bear to be troubled about anything long . Meanwhile the princess was not at all unhappy in the palace of her elfish lover . When the water-nymphs , who were hiding in readiness , had caught her and dragged her out of the sight of her terrified maidens , she herself had not had time to be frightened . They swam with her quickly by strange underground ways to a palace so splendid that her father 's seemed but a poor cottage in comparison with it , and when she recovered from her astonishment she found herself seated upon a couch , wrapped in a wonderful robe of satin fastened with a silken girdle , while beside her knelt a young man who whispered the sweetest speeches imaginable in her ear . The gnome , for he it was , told her all about himself and his great underground kingdom , and presently led her through the many rooms and halls of the palace , and showed her the rare and wonderful things displayed in them till she was fairly dazzled at the sight of so much splendour . On three sides of the castle lay a lovely garden with masses of gay , sweet flowers , and velvet lawns all cool and shady , which pleased the eye of the princess . The fruit trees were hung with golden and rosy apples , and nightingales sang in every bush , as the gnome and the princess wandered in the leafy alleys , sometimes gazing at the moon , sometimes pausing to gather the rarest flowers for her adornment .
And all the time he was thinking to himself XXXXX never , during the hundreds of years he had lived , had he seen so charming a maiden .
At On before by from if into of that to