>From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood
Mount Ida rises like an island
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had kept a child:
Hermaphroditus, son of gods, so afraid of their love
As the dawn creeps up the sky,
The hunter caught sight of a doe
In desire for conquest,
He found himself within a glade he'd not beheld before
HERMAPHRODITUS: NARRATOR:
Where are you, my father? Then he could go no farther
Give wisdom Now lost, the boy was guided
to your son by the sun
And as his strength began to fail,
He saw a shimmering lake
a shadow in the dark green depths
Disturbed the strange tranquility
SALMACIS: NARRATOR:
The waters are disturbed The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred The naiad queen Salmacis
has been stirred
As he rushed to quench his thirst,
A fountain spring appeared before him
And as his heated breath brushed through the cool mist
A liquid voice called, "Son of gods, drink from my spring"
The water tasted strangely sweet
Behind him the voice called again
He turned and saw her, in a cloak of mist alone,
And as he gazed, her eyes were filled with the darkness of the lake
SALMACIS: NARRATOR:
We shall be one She wanted them as one
We shall be joined as one Yet he had no desire to be one
HERMAPHRODITUS: Away from me, cold-blooded woman
Your thirst is not mine
SALMACIS: Nothing will cause us to part
Hear me, O Gods!
Unearthly calm ascended from the sky
And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged
Forever to be joined as one
The creature crawled into the lake
A fading voice was heard:
"And I beg, that all who touch this spring
May share my fate"
SALMACIS: NARRATOR:
We are the one The two are now made one
We are the one Demi-god and nymph are now made one
Both had given everything they had
A lover's dream had been fulfilled at last
Forever still beneath the lake