He then rose cheerfully and left her, to join his friends in the common apartment.
He found the three sitting round the hearth, with an air of anxiety about them, as if they dared not venture to speak aloud.

The priest seemed to be praying in his inmost spirit that all evil might be averted.

When, however, they saw the young husband come forth so cheerfully the careworn expression of their faces vanished.
The old fisherman even began to jest with the knight, so pleasantly, that the aged wife smiled good-humoredly as she listened to them.
Undine at length made her appearance.

All rose to meet her and all stood still with surprise, for the young wife seemed so strange to them and yet the same.

The priest was the first to advance toward her with paternal arms affection beaming in his face, and, as he raised his hand to bless her, the beautiful woman sank reverently on her knees before him.