The boughs of the spruce shaking over the ground,
The birds apprehensively tweeting...
You live in a wildwood forever spellbound
From which not a pathway is leading.

Let the cherry be drying her leaves in mid air,
Let the lilac her bounty be spilling -
All the same I am going to fetch you from here
To a palace where reedpipes are trilling.

Sly shamans are keeping you under a spell
Secluded from me and from sunlight.
You fancy no land would become you so well
As this of a thousand-and-one-nights.

Let no dew on the grass of a morning appear,
Let the moon fear a cloudy commotion -
All the same I am going to fetch you from here
To a tower with a view of the ocean.

O when will you break through the tangle of charms
Right out to the spot of our meeting?
O when will I carry you off in my arms
To where not a track will be leading?

I will steal you! if stealing appeals to your heart -
Or in vain have I spent so much power?!..
Come, agree to a warm little heaven in a hut,
If there is no more palace or tower.