ild, my beloved child!'

Then the Fairy beckoned to him and said so tenderly, 'Come with me,'
that he rushed towards her, forgetting his promise, forgetting
everything on the very first evening that she smiled and beckoned to
him.

The fragrance in the scented air around grew stronger, the harps sounded
sweeter than ever, and it seemed as if the millions of smiling heads in
the hall where the Tree grew nodded and sang, 'One must know everything.
Man is lord of the earth.' They were no longer tears of blood which fell
from the Tree; it seemed to him that they were red shining stars.

'Come with me, come with me,' spoke those trembling tones, and at every
step the Prince's cheeks burnt hotter and hotter and his blood coursed
more rapidly.

'I must go,' he said, 'it is no sin; I must see her asleep; nothing will
be lost if I do not kiss her, and that I will not do. My will is
strong.'

The Fairy dropped her shimmering garment, drew back the branches, and a
moment after was hidden within their depths.

'I have not sinned yet!' said the Prince, 'nor will I'; then he drew
back the branches. There she lay asleep already, beautiful as only the
Fairy in the Garden of Paradise can be. She smiled in her dreams; he
bent over her and saw the tears welling up under her eyelashes.

[Illustration: _The Fairy dropped her shimmering garment, drew back the
branches, and a moment after was hidden within their depths._]

'Do you weep for me?' he whispered. 'Weep not, beautiful maiden. I
only now understand the full bliss of Paradise; it surges through my
blood and through my thoughts. I feel the strength of the angels and of
everlasting life in my mortal limbs! If it were to be everlasting night
to me, a moment like this were worth it!' and he kissed away the tears
from her eyes; his mouth touched hers.

Then came a sound like thunder, louder and more awful than any he had
ever heard before, and everything around collapsed. The beautiful Fairy,
the flowery Paradise sank deeper and deeper. The Prince saw it sink into
the darkness of night; it shone far off like a little tiny twinkling
star. The chill of death crept over his limbs; he closed his eyes and
lay long as if dead.

The cold rain fell on his face, and the sharp wind blew around his head,
and at last his memory came back. 'What have I done?' he sighed. 'I have
sinned like Adam, sinned so heavily that Paradise has sunk low beneath
the earth!' And he opened his eyes; he cou