Page:Bohemian legends and other poems.djvu/50

 Yes, the silver bell they wanted;
 * But God’s will was greater still;

Angel hands were sent to guard it,
 * In the well it lingered still.

Deep it lies amidst the waters
 * And the pebbles of the well;

All around it life is stirring,
 * As the hunter’s horn can tell.

But the bell was bound to silence,
 * Till the hour of fate drew near,

And the weak hand of a woman
 * Pulled it up without a fear.

Only halfway could she pull it,
 * But the voice rang, clear and long:

John, John, John, sacrificed John!”
 * Ah, never more shall that song

Be heard of a mortal again,
 * Though many come to the well

To water their linen again.
 * Though many the story tell,

None can say they have heard its voice,
 * For the bell is hid in the well,

Never more to be heard on earth.