Water-Lilies

Where the water-lilies go

To and fro,

Rocking in the ripples of the water,

Lazy on a leaf lies the Lake King's daughter,

And the faint winds shake her.

Who will come and take her?

I will! I will!

Keep still! Keep still!

Sleeping on a leaf lies the Lake King's daughter . . .

Then the wind comes skipping

To the lilies on the water;

And the kind winds wake her.

Now who will take her?

With a laugh she is slipping

Through the lilies on the water.

Wait! Wait!

Too late, too late!

Only the water-lilies go

To and fro,

Dipping, dipping,

To the ripples of the water.