The Erl-King Speaks Again
“Oh! come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away.”—
“O Father! O Father! now, now keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me—his grasp is so cold!”
Sore trembled the father; he spurred thro’ the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasped to his bosom, the infant was dead!
Sir Walter Scott, from Goethe