Classic Poem

Die Jungfrau schläft in der Kammer

A maiden lies in her chamber
Lit by a trembling moon;
Outside there rises and echoes
A waltz's giddy tune.

" I wonder who breaks my slumber;
I'll go to the window and see — "
And lo, a skeleton stands there;
He fiddles and sings with glee:

" A dance you swore to give me,
And you have broken your vow;
To-night there's a ball in the churchyard;
Come out and dance with me now! "

The maid, as though moved by magic,
Obeys, and she leaves the house;
The skeleton, fiddling and singing,
Goes on with its wild carouse.

It fiddles and leaps and dances
And rattles its bones to the tune;
Its skull keeps nodding and nodding
Crazily under the moon.