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 further
Give wisdom to your son" / 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 tranquility.
Salmacis: / Narrator:
"The waters are disturbed / "The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred" / 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, yes 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.