Like a great stone cast into the water
At the dread news her happy heart sank.
At the dread news her happy heart sank.
The youth who discovered the cavern
Had long loved the damsel in vain,
So he brought her the news of her danger
Which inspired him with hope once again.
Had long loved the damsel in vain,
So he brought her the news of her danger
Which inspired him with hope once again.
He begged her to trust him to save her,
Though his terrible peril he knew
Naught but hope of their safety he gave her
As they fled in their little canoe.
Though his terrible peril he knew
Naught but hope of their safety he gave her
As they fled in their little canoe.
On the way he described the lone cavern,
The place of their hasty retreat,
'Till he paused where the rocks towered above them
And told her it lay at her feet.
The place of their hasty retreat,
'Till he paused where the rocks towered above them
And told her it lay at her feet.
With warcries the island resounded
'Till the birds hushed their songs in affright
Then a yell as of victory sounded;
Had the dread king discovered their flight?
'Till the birds hushed their songs in affright
Then a yell as of victory sounded;
Had the dread king discovered their flight?
Dim forms on the shore became clearer,
Then the splashing of heavy canoes
Just behind sounded nearer and nearer,
They had not a moment to lose.
Then the splashing of heavy canoes
Just behind sounded nearer and nearer,
They had not a moment to lose.
These women can swim like the mermaids
And dive like the fish in the sea;
So the young chief sprang into the water
And cried to the maid: "Follow me."
And dive like the fish in the sea;
So the young chief sprang into the water
And cried to the maid: "Follow me."
Down, down through the shadowy water,
With her hair streaming out on the tide,
Sank the great chieftain's beautiful daughter
With the young island chief at her side.
With her hair streaming out on the tide,
Sank the great chieftain's beautiful daughter
With the young island chief at her side.
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