Then a sweet voice near her spoke out and said: "Abide with me and be my bride, and thou shalt have all thy heart desires."
But Anima cried out in fear and trembling: "But who art thou? Who art thou? Come forth and let me see thee."
But the voice replied: "Nay, nay, that is forbidden. Never must thou look upon my face or we must part, for my mother, the Queen, wishes not that I should wed."
So sweet was his voice and so lonely did Anima feel, that she consented to become his bride, and they lived happily together, though he never came near her till all was dark, so that she could not see him. But after a time Anima became weary even with all these splendours and happiness, and wished to see her own people again, and said to her husband:
"Please may I go home and see my father and my mother and my dear sisters?"
"Nay, nay, child," said the voice of her husband, "ill will come of it if thou seest them again, and thou and I must part."
But she kept on begging him to let her return to her people for a visit, or at least to let them come and see her, till at last he consented and sent a message to her father and mother and sisters, asking them to come and spend some days with her, at a time when he himself would have to be absent.
So the King and Queen and Anima's two sisters
