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:
'Where are you my father
Give wisdom to your son'
Narrator:
'Then he could go no farther
Now lost, the boy was guided 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 tranquillity
Salmacis:
'The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred'
Narrator:
'The waters are disturbed
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 rushed 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:
'We shall be one
We shall be joined as one'
Narrator:
'She wanted them 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 descended 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, yes I beg, that all who touch this spring may share my fate'
Salmacis:
'We are the one
We are the one'
Narrator:
'The two are now made 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