g, with train and crown?"
"It is a wreath of mist, my son."

"Come, lovely boy, come go with me;
Such merry plays I will play with thee!
Many a bright flower grows on the strand,
And my mother has many a gay garment at hand."

"My father, my father, and dost thou not hear
What the Erl King whispers in my ear?"
"Be quiet, my darling, be quiet, my child;
Through withered leaves the wind howls wild."

"Come, lovely boy, wilt thou go with me?
My daughters fair shall wait on thee,
My daughters their nightly revels keep,
They'll sing, and they'll dance, and they'll rock thee to sleep."

"My father, my father, and seest thou not
The Erl King's daughters in yon dim spot?"
"My son, my son, I see, and I know
'Tis the old gray willow that shimmers so."

"I love thee; thy beauty has ravished my sense;
And willing or not, I will carry thee hence."
"O, father, the Erl King now puts forth his arm--
O, father, the Erl King has done me harm."

The father shudders, he hurries on;
And faster he holds his moaning son;
He reaches his home with fear and dread,
And lo! in his arms the child was dead.

_From the German of Goethe._

THE SILLY YOUNG RABBIT.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.

There was a young rabbit
Who had a bad habit--
Sometimes he would do what his mother forbid.
And one frosty day,
His mother did say,
"My child you must stay in the burrow close hid;
For I hear the dread sounds
Of huntsmen and hounds,
Who are searching around for rabbits like you;
Should they see but your head,
They would soon shoot you dead,
And the dogs would be off with you quicker than boo!"

But, poor foolish being!
When no one was seeing,
Looking out from his burrow to take a short play,
He hopped o'er the ground
With many a bound,
And looked around proudly, as if he would say,
Do I fear a man?
Now catch me who can!
So this young rabbit ran to a fine apple tree,
Where, gnawing the bark,
He thought not to hark
The coming of hunters, so careless was he.
Now, as rabbits are good
When roasted or stewed,
A man came along hunting rabbits for dinner;
He saw little bun,
Then raised his big gun,
And there he lay dead, t