32
BOHEMIAN LEGENDS.
Yes, the silver bell they wanted;
But God’s will was greater still;
Angel hands were sent to guard it,
In the well it lingered still.
Deep it lies amidst the waters
And the pebbles of the well;
All around it life is stirring,
As the hunter’s horn can tell.
But the bell was bound to silence,
Till the hour of fate drew near,
And the weak hand of a woman
Pulled it up without a fear.
Only halfway could she pull it,
But the voice rang, clear and long:
“John, John, John, sacrificed John!”
Ah, never more shall that song
Be heard of a mortal again,
Though many come to the well
To water their linen again.
Though many the story tell,
None can say they have heard its voice,
For the bell is hid in the well,
Never more to be heard on earth.
