NERINA: And thus, forever separated from oblivion, the years, the old age, the races will communicate better, and we will be faithful to one another.

Nerina from Gironde, a beautiful teenager, lives in a fishing hut with an elderly couple, August and Eugenia, whom she considers her parents. They found her as a newborn, abandoned at the edge of the lake, adopted her, and have cherished her ever since. Odette becomes a model housekeeper. She easily handles all the household chores but is extremely mischievous and unruly. She plays pranks on her parents, runs outside to the lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, dances in the storm, and, due to her fairy-like nature, communicates with the water creatures, mingles with other fairies, and recognizes the Fairy King as her uncle.

The figure captivates the wandering knight Hans when he seeks shelter in her humble abode and meets her. He is enchanted by her grace, falls in love with her, forgets his fiancée, Bertha, and decides to make her his wife. Similarly, Odette falls passionately in love with Hans and decides to leave her parents and—most importantly—to abandon her lake and marry him. However, August warns the knight that Nerina is nature itself and that one should not trust nature too much, as it opposes humanity.

[excerpt from the afterword]