Thou canst not escape being drowned.

“No sooner the sentence was spoken,

Than lo! like an angel of love,

I saw to the waters beneath me

A leaflet descend from above.

“It glided serene on the streamlet,

’Twas an ark to the poor little fly;

Which soon, to the land reäscending,

Spread its wings in the breezes to dry.

“Oh, sweet was the truth that was whispered,