The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-13
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1 The little mermaid Grew back the purple curtain of the tent and saw l the beautiful bride asleep with her head nesting on the Princes breast. She bent down. kissed him on his brave. calm forehead. and looked at the sky where the gleam of morning was growing bright and brighter.
 She looked at th& sharp knife and then she fixed her eyes again on the | Prince. At that moment he whisper ed the name of his bride in his dream. He thought only of her. The knife trembled in the hand of the little mer- maid Then she raised herself erect and swiftly flung the knife far over the side.
 The waves glimmered bloody red where it fell. Bubbles rose to the sur lace. They looked like drops of blood hspce more she looked at the Prince
 With eyes dim With tears and fear. Then she threw herself into the sea. She felt her body dtssolving into foam.
 Al that moment the great sun arose stately and generous from the far end Of the ocean. Its rays fell so warm and mild on the deadly cold sea that the little mermaid did not feel a pane or death. She saw the bright sun, and above her noated an endless host ors | shining transparent beings, through whom she could see the white sails or the ships and the rosy clouds in ths sky.
 The voice of these beings was melo. dious; but 1t was voice of spirits so pure that no human ear could hear them, just as no human eye could see them. They had no wings. but scared lightly throug.i the air.
 All at once the little mermaid dis- covered that. she had body like theirs and that she was soaring slowly and gently out of the foam.
 Where am going?" asked she, as- tounded and bewildered.T And her voica sounded like that of the other bienge, so pure and celestial that no earthly music 1t like it or could give even an idea of 1t.
 ''You are going to the daughters of the air" replied the others. Dear little mermaid," said they, that could not gain an immortal soul except through the love of human be- ing. come with us. We have no im- mortal soul. either; but we can win one. and we need not depend on the power of another. The daughters Of the air can win as immortal soul by good deeds. We will fly to the warm countries where the hot. terrible air breeds pestilence and kills human be- ings. There we will wait cool breezes to them. We will spread the perfume of flowers through the air and distri- bute healing and bless the sick with renewed health. Come with us. When we thave striven for three hundred years to do all the good we can do we will receive an immortal soul and can share in the eternal happiness of mankind. Poore little mermaid, you have tried with all your heart to reach the same goal as we, You have sufr- cred and endured an dthey who do that raise thsmselves to the world ot spirits"
 The little mermaid raised her trans- parent arms toward heaven. and for the first time she felt tears come to her eyes.
 Now those on the ship awoke to new. bright day. She looked down and saw the merry hustle. Then she saw the Prince with his bride searching for her. At last. when none could find her they stepped to the side of the ship and looked sadly Into the bubblina foam, as if they realized that she had thrown herself into the sea.
 She flew down and kissed the brtde'a forehead. She smiled at the Prince and then scared upward with fhe' other chIl,. dren of the air on the rosy cloud that sailed through space.
 Next Sundays One-Page Classic will be ''Rob Roy" by Sir Walter Scott.