Kopp and Humm weren't the only ones looking for a cure.
The palace servants loved the lighthearted princess. She made them laugh and feel happy.
"I know what will help her," a servant told Nanny. "Falling in love with a handsome prince."
Nanny shook her head. "Don't you remember? The princess has no gravity. She can't fall into anything!"
Actually, reader, the princess was already in love. But it wasn't with a prince. It was with the palace's lake.
It started when Ellen accidentally fell in the water. The family was boating on the lake. Ellen suddenly spotted a friend's boat across the lake.
"Papa, I want to go on Mary's boat. Can you help me?"
"Of course." The king picked her up. He carried her to the side of the boat when—boompf! He tripped, and Ellen splashed into the water.
"She'll drown!" the king cried. "She can't swim!"
"I'll save her, Your Majesty!" A servant dived into the water.
But when the servant came back up, his arms were empty. A second later the princess popped up—on the other side of the lake.
"Here I am!" she yelled, laughing.
The servant tried to get her, but she swam away. For hours, she swam around the lake like a swan. In the water gravity didn't matter. For the first time, Ellen felt truly free to move on her own.
After this event all Ellen wanted to do was swim. In the summer she swam all day long. In the winter servants broke the ice for her. At night she stared out her bedroom window, missing the lake.
The philosophers watched Ellen closely. Soon they both had the same thought.
"That's it!" Kopp shouted.
"Yes!" Humm cried.
They rushed to tell the king and queen.
"Your Majesties! We have found a cure for the princess!" Kopp said. "A wonderful cure! It's water!"
"Water?" The king frowned. "She swims all the time. Water hasn't cured her yet."
"No," Kopp said impatiently. "She needs water from inside herself. The water must come from—"
"Tears!" Humm said. "We must make Ellen cry!"