The
Fountain of the Fairies
There
is a fountain in the forest call'd
The fountain
of the faieies: when a child
With a
delightful wonder I have heard
Tales
of the elfin tribe who on its banks
Hold midnight
revelry. An ancient oak,
The goodliest
of the forest, grows besides;
Alone
it stands, apon a green grass plat,
By the
woods bounded like some little isle.
It everhath
been deem'd their favourite tree,
They love
to lie and rock opon its leaves,
And bask
in moonshine. Here the woodman
leads
His boy, and showing him the
green-sward
mark'd With darker circlets,
says the
midnight dance Hath traced the rings,
and bids
him spare the tree.
Fancy
had cast a spell upon the place
Whitch
made it holy: and the villagers
Would
say that never evil thing approach'd
Unpunish'd
there. The strange and fearful
pleasure
Which fill'd me by that solitary spring,
Ceased
not in riper years; and now it wakes
Deeper
delight, and more mysterious awe.
(By: Robert Southey)