Ondine

A folktale

“Ondine”

Ondine why are you crying,

In your grotto by the sea

Is it because you've lost your love

Or just your immortality

Ondine she was a water nymph

Possessed of great beauty

But should she wed and bear a child

Her endurance it would flee

Sir Lawrence was a German knight

So handsome in his sheen

He striding through the grotto stole

The heart of poor Ondine

The German knight he wooed her

Promising love and fidelity

And so this couple they were married,

Sir Lawrence and Ondine

One year hence from this wedding

Ondine bore forth a son

No sooner had he passed her womb

Than her quickening had begun

Sir Lawrence lost his interest as

Ondine's grace began to fade

He soon found himself regretting all

The vows that he had made

One day Ondine went walking

By the stables filled with hay

'Twas there she found Sir Lawrence

Who with another woman lay

“Sir Lawrence when I saw thou in

My grotto by the sea

I knew I would ne'er sleep with any

Other knight than thee

A curse on you, Sir Lawrence,”

In her anger swore Ondine,

“Shall thou sleep may your breath forsake you

Just as thou have forsaken me”

Ondine why are you crying

In your grotto by the sea

Is it because you've lost your love

Or just your immortality

Reviews

[hmm]

This is a really amazing write. It really grabs a hold of you. Well written

[Emily B]

love or immortality? sometimes I think they are two sides of the same coin