Fairy. Vainly my glance doth seek the heav'nly plain,
Where rising vapours all the air enshroud,
And veil the well-known paths from cloud to cloud.
Chorus. Clouds! wand'ring clouds! she yearns, and yearns in vain,
Soaring like you, to tread the heav'ns again;
Vainly she sighs to hear, as erst she heard,
The melting strains of Paradise sweet bird:[1]
That blessed voice grows faint. The heav'n in vain
Rings with the song of the returning crane;
In vain she lists, where ocean softly laves,
To the free seagull twitt'ring o'er the waves;
Vainly she harks where zephyr sweeps the plain:
These all may fly, but she'll ne'er fly again!
Fisherman. I would fain speak a word unto thee. Too strong is the pity that overcomes me, as I gaze upon thy face. I will restore to thee thy robe of feathers.
Fairy. Oh, joy! oh, joy! Give it back to me!
Fisherman. One moment! I restore it to thee on condition that thou do first dance to me now, at this very hour and in this very spot, one of those fairy dances whose fame has reached mine ears.
Fairy. Oh, joy untold! It is, then, granted to me once more to return to heaven! And if this happiness be true, I will leave a dance behind me as a token to mortal men. I will dance it here,—the dance that makes the Palace of the Moon turn round, so that even poor transitory man may learn its mysteries. But I cannot dance without my feathers. Give them back to me, I pray thee.
Fisherman. No, No! If I restore to thee thy feathers, thou wilt fly home to heaven without dancing to me at all.
Fairy. Fie on thee! The pledge of mortals may be doubted, but in heavenly beings there is no falsehood.
Fisherman. Fairy maid! thou shamest me:
Take thy feathers and be free!
Fairy. Now the maiden dons her wings
And rainbow robes, and blithely sings:
Fisherman. Wings that flutter in the wind!
Fairy. Robes like flow'rs with raindrops lin'd!
[The Fairy begins to dance.]
- ↑ Literally, the Karyōbinga, a corruption of the Sanskrit word Kalavifigka.
