Psyche is deceived and overcome by her sisters

The two sisters, bound by a wicked pact, without even visiting their parents, boarded a ship and hurriedly headed towards the cliff they knew well; then, without waiting for the wind to carry them, they threw themselves into the void with reckless daring. But Zephyr, remembering the command given by the king, reluctantly received them into the embrace of the blowing breeze and set them down on the ground.
Immediately, without delay, they entered the house and, embracing their prey whom they hypocritically called sister, and hiding behind a joyful face the heap of treachery they harbored in their hearts, they began to flatter her: "Oh Psyche, you are no longer a child as before! You are already a mother! What a treasure you carry in your belly! What a celebration it will be for the whole family! Blessed are we who will have the joy of nurturing this golden child of yours! And if he is as beautiful as his parents, as is natural, a new Cupid will be born!"
Thus, pretending to care deeply for her, they gradually made their way into their sister's heart.
Psyche immediately let them rest from the fatigue of the journey, refreshed them with a warm bath, and led them to a splendid dining room where they were served with wonderful and exquisite dishes and delightful sauces. Then she commanded a lyre to play, and a lyre was heard, she ordered the sound of flutes, and the flutes played, she asked for a choir to sing, and the choir sang. Yet no one was seen, while the sweetest melodies caressed the soul of those who listened.
But not even the soothing sweetness of that music was enough to soften and calm the wickedness of those two wretches; instead, turning the conversation to lead to the trap they had prepared, they began to ask Psyche about her husband, where he was born, and from which family. And she, forgetting in her simplicity what she had invented previously, told another story; she said her husband was a wealthy merchant from a nearby region, middle-aged, with hair already slightly graying.
Then, without dwelling on these conversations, she filled them again with rich gifts and sent them back on the usual vehicle made of wind.
While the gentle breath of Zephyr carried them home through the air, they spoke to each other saying: "Did you hear, sister, what monstrous lies that fool has invented? First, her husband was a young man with a face barely shaded by a light down, now he is middle-aged and already a bit graying. And what kind of man is this, who ages so quickly? There are two possibilities: either she is a wretch who invents one story after another, or she has never seen her husband's face. In any case, we must absolutely take her away from all those riches. If she does not know her husband's face, then it means she has married a god, and the child she carries will be a god too. If things are like this (god forbid!) I will immediately hang myself with a good knot. But let's return to our parents, and after so much talk, let's start taking action by concocting a nice plot."
Thus, all angry, they rudely greeted their parents and, after a sleepless and tormented night, the next morning they rushed again to the cliff like two madwomen, and from there, with the usual help of the wind, they quickly descended.
Then, squeezing their eyelids, they managed to shed a few tears and finally began to deceive Psyche with these words: "Blessed are you who understand nothing, and who stay there quietly without realizing the danger you are in! We, on the other hand, who care so much for you, do nothing but torment ourselves for your misfortune. We know for certain, and we can no longer hide it from you because we are too intensely involved in your pain and misfortune, that, without you knowing it, a terrifying beast lies with you every night: it is a monstrous serpent that coils in a hundred spirals, with a neck bleeding with deadly venom and a huge gaping throat. Remember the oracle: it predicted that you were destined for a monster. And then many shepherds and many hunters and even many people living around here have seen it when it returns in the evening from grazing and swims in the waters of the nearby river. Everyone says it will not last much longer to fatten you up by feeding you exquisite dishes, but when your womb reaches the end of pregnancy, it will devour you along with the precious fruit that has filled you. Now decide: either listen to your sisters, anguished for your life which they hold dear, and, escaping death, come to live with us without danger, or you will be buried in the bowels of this most cruel beast. If you are so happy to stay in this desert full of voices to make love clandestinely with this fetid and dangerous beast and enjoy this intimate relationship with a poisonous dragon, go ahead: we have fulfilled our duty as affectionate sisters."
Then poor Psyche, simple and tender in her soul, was seized by an indescribable fear upon hearing such terrifying words; out of herself, she forgot all her husband's warnings and the promises she had made to him and plunged into an abyss of anguish, trembling, pale, and lifeless, she began to stammer with a thread of voice broken words, in this way: 
"You, dearest sisters, certainly behave as is right, driven by that duty imposed on you by your holy affection, but it does not seem to me that those who told you these things are lying. In fact, I have never seen my husband's face, and I do not even know from which country he is; but if I think about the conversations he has with me in his nightly dialogues, I must say that I am subjected to a husband of unknown condition, who flees the light! Therefore, I must admit that you are telling the truth by saying that it is a beast. Moreover, he tries to frighten me in every way so that I do not want to see him, and, threatening me, he predicts great misfortunes if I insist on expressing the desire to see his face. If you can in any way help this your unfortunate sister, do it immediately, for goodness sake! Otherwise, your neglect would nullify the advantage of previous solicitude."
Then those wretches saw the breach open in Psyche's soul and, putting aside the snares of every hidden plot and openly wielding the sword of deceit, ensnare the soul of the naive girl.
And the other added: "Since the bond of kinship urges us to keep our eyes always open for your safety at the slightest danger that may arise, we want to suggest a means that can lead you to salvation. We have long thought and meditated on it. Hide under the bed, on the side where you usually sleep, a sharp razor, which you can make even sharper by passing it over the palm of your hand. Then place a lamp full of oil, which makes a clear light, inside a well-closed container, so that it cannot be seen. After all these preparations made in the greatest secrecy, wait for the moment when he, moving on his coils, will have dragged himself into the bed as he usually does and, overcome by the first sleep, will show by snoring that he has fallen deeply asleep: then you slip out of bed and walking slowly and cautiously, barefoot, extract the lamp from the darkness of the blind prison in which it has been enclosed, then, with the help of the light, seize the opportune moment for your courageous enterprise and with your right hand, boldly raising the razor, strike with all your strength the evil serpent between head and neck. Be sure that we will help you. We naturally feel all the trepidation of waiting, but when you have killed the serpent you will no longer have to fear anything; we will take away all this stuff with you and then think about uniting you, who are a human creature, to a human spouse."
With these fiery words, they inflamed the already burning soul of their sister, and then they immediately left, frightened themselves by the imminence of the crime they had suggested. As usual, they were lifted by the wings of the wind above the cliff and, boarding the ship, they fled in great haste.
Psyche, left alone, indeed not alone but agitated by enemy Furies, wavers like the waves of the sea in a great storm of gloomy thoughts. And although now resolutely determined to carry out the planned scheme, at the moment of executing this wicked enterprise, she remains hesitant in uncertainty, driven in various directions by different thoughts. Now she hurries, now she delays, now she feels full of courage, now she is overcome by fear, now she doubts, now she gets angry: in short, in the same body, she hates the monster and loves the husband.
However, when the evening was already advanced, she hurriedly completed the preparation of the infamous crime. Night comes, and the husband arrives who, after the first conjugal love battles, falls into a deep sleep.