Presently , after walking wildly up and down , he wrote these verses upon the sand with his stick : `` At last may I upon this shore Lighten my sorrow with soft tears . Alas ! alas ! I see no more My Love , who yet my sadness cheers . `` And thou , O raging , stormy Sea , Stirred by wild winds , from depth to height , Thou hold ` st my loved one far from me , And I am captive to thy might . `` My heart is still more wild than thine , For Fate is cruel unto me . Why must I thus in exile pine ? Why is my Princess snatched from me ? `` O ! lovely Nymphs , from ocean caves , Who know how sweet true love may be , Come up and calm the furious waves And set a desperate lover free ! '' While he was still writing he heard a voice which attracted his attention in spite of himself . Seeing that the waves were rolling in higher than ever , he looked all round , and presently saw a lovely lady floating gently toward him upon the crest of a huge billow , her long hair spread all about her ; in one hand she held a mirror , and in the other a comb , and instead of feet she had a beautiful tail like a fish , with which she swam . The King was struck dumb with astonishment at this unexpected sight ; but as soon as she came within speaking distance , she said to him , `` I know how sad you are at losing your Princess and being kept a prisoner by the Fairy of the Desert ; if you like I will help you to escape from this fatal place , where you may otherwise have to drag on a weary existence for thirty years or more . '' The King of the Gold Mines hardly knew what answer to make to this proposal . Not because he did not wish very much to escape , but he was afraid that this might be only another device by which the Fairy of the Desert was trying to deceive him . As he hesitated the Mermaid , who guessed his thoughts , said to him : `` You may trust me : I am not trying to entrap you . I am so angry with the Yellow Dwarf and the Fairy of the Desert that I am not likely to wish to help them , especially since I constantly see your poor Princess , whose beauty and goodness make me pity her so much ; and I tell you that if you will have confidence in me I will help you to escape . '' `` I trust you absolutely , '' cried the King , `` and I will do whatever you tell me ; but if you have seen my Princess I beg of you to tell me how she is and what is happening to her . `` We must not waste time in talking , '' said she . `` Come with me and I will carry you to the Castle of Steel , and we will leave upon this shore a figure so like you that even the Fairy herself will be deceived by it . ''
So saying , she quickly collected a bundle of sea-weed , and , blowing it three times , she said : `` My friendly sea-weeds , I order you to stay here stretched upon the sand until the Fairy of the Desert comes XXXXX take you away . ''
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