# The Fairy Tale of the Miracle Spring, fifth Act

[MRS. BALDE]:  
Since that night,  
the boy found no more women, even when he sat pensively  
at the rock spring.  
But his soul could not forget  
The cup of the water women,  
Nor the wild dragon.  
And when, after many years  
— — — — — — — —  
And it seemed fitting  
That in the ripe season of life  
The man could visit  
The beloved nursery of his childhood.  
He was driven by a longing for the place  
Where once, in the silvery moonlight  
Through the play of water droplets  
His spirit friends had joined him.  
And again the droplets formed  
Into wondrous spirit beings.  
Only this time he could see them even more clearly.  
There were three female beings,  
And as if by magic words,  
They spoke to his soul in feelings  
That he clearly perceived as their words.  
One spoke gently:  
I have remained faithful to you,  
And when the bitterness of life  
Filled your soul,  
I refreshed you with the memory  
Of sunlight and forest joys,  
Which accompanied your youth.  
You could not interpret it,  
How through all of life's seriousness and struggles  
The bliss of childhood days  
Were comfort and help to you.  
And as cheerful as the sun itself speaks,  
So sounded the second speech:  
My loyalty to you did not fade either.  
I once gave you understanding  
Of mysterious spiritual powers,  
Which from the light of life's meaning  
Can speak to people.  
And because you sought me  
In your tender youth,  
I was able to live in the depths of your soul  
In your laborious life.  
So that your gaze could never stray  
From the heights of existence, where the values of life  
Also lend to the futile  
The light and splendor of the spirit,  
It was shown to you as a boy  
By me in this magical place,  
And you felt it powerfully,  
When courage and joy of life often faded. And the third also spoke:  
You often found life's burdens great,  
But never could flee from the darkness of existence  
Flee from your soul  
The words of wisdom of life.  
And though I myself do not know  
The reason for our laborious existence,  
The spiritual powers know it well,  
They who showed me the field of action.  
To create even in the smallest things  
Is the work of the spirit.  
When a child's pensive heart  
From springs and forests  
Acquires a sense of duty early on,  
Which I am allowed to bring to people,  
The strongest vitality has been bestowed upon him,  
Which guides him safely and keeps him upright.  
Immersed completely in such words  
Spoken by childhood friends  
The man lingered for a long time.  
And when his steps turned back  
To the everyday circles of his life,  
He knew a great secret,  
That the power of the spirit and nature  
Was revealed to him in the twilight of childhood,  
And that with all clarity  
The powers of fate revealed to him  
In the prime of his life.  
But if another person had asked him  
About the secret knowledge  
That had been bestowed upon him by the power of the spirits,  
He could only have felt silently  
The richest source of life's power. It flows from those words  
That rest in the depths of the soul  
And never leave the realm of the heart. —