Read "The Elf Singing" by Willa Cather online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
AN Elf sat on a twig, / He was not very big, / He sang a little song, / He did not think it wrong; / But he was on a Wizard's ground, / Who hated all sweet sound.
Elf, Elf, / Take care of yourself!
He's coming behind you, / To seize you and bind you, / And stifle your song.
The Wizard! the Wizard!
He changes his shape / In crawling along, / An ugly old ape, / A poisonous lizard, / A spotted spider, / A wormy glider, / The Wizard! the Wizard!
He's up on the bough, / He'll bite through your gizzard / He's close to you now!
The Elf went on with his song, / It grew more clear and strong, / It lifted him into air, / He floated singing away, / With rainbows in his hair; / While the Wizard-worm from his creep / Made a sudden leap, / Fell down into a hole, / And, ere his magic word he could say, / Was eaten up by a Mole.