THE NIXY [\[15\]](#Footnote1515)
by Unknown · from The Yellow Fairy Book
![Cover: THE NIXY [\[15\]](#Footnote1515)](/library-files/english/unknown/the_yellow_fairy_book/the_nixy_15_footnote1515/images/cover/cover_001.png?v=1773763849572)
Adapted Version
Once, there was a miller. He was very rich. Then he was very poor. He was sad. He walked by the pond. He felt bad.
A Water Spirit came from the water. She was a white lady. She asked him: "Why are you sad?" She said: "Money for your newest thing."
The Miller thought of a pet. He said yes. He went home. His wife had a baby boy. This was a surprise. The Miller felt bad.
The Miller got rich again. He had much money. He was happy. But he was worried. He kept his boy far from the pond.
Many years passed. The boy grew up. He was a Young Man. He liked to hunt. He had a wife. One day, he went to the pond. He washed his hands.
The Water Spirit took the Young Man. He went into the water. His wife was very sad. She cried much.
The Young Woman cried. She was very sad. She slept. She had a dream. A Kind Old Lady spoke. She told her what to do.
The Young Woman found the Kind Old Lady. The Kind Old Lady spoke. She said: 'Go to the pond. The moon will be big. Take a golden comb. Comb your hair. Leave the comb there.'
The Young Woman did this. A wave took the comb. She saw her husband's face. Then he was gone again.
The Young Woman dreamed again. The Kind Old Lady spoke. She said: 'Go to pond next big moon. Take a golden flute. Play a song. Leave the flute there.'
The Young Woman played the flute. A wave took it. Her husband came half out. Then he went back in.
The Young Woman dreamed a third time. The Kind Old Lady spoke. She said: 'Go to pond next big moon. Take a golden spinning-wheel. Spin some thread. Leave the wheel there.'
The Young Woman spun. A wave took the wheel. Her husband came out. He was free!
The water rose high. It took the man and wife. They changed into a frog and toad. They went to different places far away.
Many years passed. They were people again. They were shepherds. They met in a new place. They were friends. They did not know each other.
One night, the man played his flute. The woman heard it. She remembered the pond. She remembered her husband. She cried. She told her sad story.
The man knew it was his wife! She knew it was her husband! They were so happy. They went home together.
Original Story
THE NIXY [15]
There was once upon a time a miller who was very well off, and had as much money and as many goods as he knew what to do with. But sorrow comes in the night, and the miller all of a sudden became so poor that at last he could hardly call the mill in which he sat his own. He wandered about all day full of despair and misery, and when he lay down at night he could get no rest, but lay awake all night sunk in sorrowful thoughts.
One morning he rose up before dawn and went outside, for he thought his heart would be lighter in the open air. As he wandered up and down on the banks of the mill-pond he heard a rustling in the water, and when he looked near he saw a white woman rising up from the waves.
He realised at once that this could be none other than the nixy of the mill-pond, and in his terror he didn’t know if he should fly away or remain where he was. While he hesitated the nixy spoke, called him by his name, and asked him why he was so sad.
When the miller heard how friendly her tone was, he plucked up heart and told her how rich and prosperous he had been all his life up till now, when he didn’t know what he was to do for want and misery.
Then the nixy spoke comforting words to him, and promised that she would make him richer and more prosperous than he had ever been in his life before, if he would give her in return the youngest thing in his house.
The miller thought she must mean one of his puppies or kittens, so promised the nixy at once what she asked, and returned to his mill full of hope. On the threshold he was greeted by a servant with the news that his wife had just given birth to a boy.
The poor miller was much horrified by these tidings, and went in to his wife with a heavy heart to tell her and his relations of the fatal bargain he had just struck with the nixy. ‘I would gladly give up all the good fortune she promised me,’ he said, ‘if I could only save my child.’ But no one could think of any advice to give him, beyond taking care that the child never went near the mill-pond.
The miller sees the nixy of the mill-pond
So the boy throve and grew big, and in the meantime all prospered with the miller, and in a few years he was richer than he had ever been before. But all the same he did not enjoy his good fortune, for he could not forget his compact with the nixy, and he knew that sooner or later she would demand his fulfilment of it. But year after year went by, and the boy grew up and became a great hunter, and the lord of the land took him into his service, for he was as smart and bold a hunter as you would wish to see. In a short time he married a pretty young wife, and lived with her in great peace and happiness.
One day when he was out hunting a hare sprang up at his feet, and ran for some way in front of him in the open field. The hunter pursued it hotly for some time, and at last shot it dead. Then he proceeded to skin it, never noticing that he was close to the mill-pond, which from childhood up he had been taught to avoid. He soon finished the skinning, and went to the water to wash the blood off his hands. He had hardly dipped them in the pond when the nixy rose up in the water, and seizing him in her wet arms she dragged him down with her under the waves.
When the hunter did not come home in the evening his wife grew very anxious, and when his game bag was found close to the mill-pond she guessed at once what had befallen him. She was nearly beside herself with grief, and roamed round and round the pond calling on her husband without ceasing. At last, worn out with sorrow and fatigue, she fell asleep and dreamt that she was wandering along a flowery meadow, when she came to a hut where she found an old witch, who promised to restore her husband to her.
When she awoke next morning she determined to set out and find the witch; so she wandered on for many a day, and at last she reached the flowery meadow and found the hut where the old witch lived. The poor wife told her all that had happened and how she had been told in a dream of the witch’s power to help her.
The witch counselled her to go to the pond the first time there was a full moon, and to comb her black hair with a golden comb, and then to place the comb on the bank. The hunter’s wife gave the witch a handsome present, thanked her heartily, and returned home.
Time dragged heavily till the time of the full moon, but it passed at last, and as soon as it rose the young wife went to the pond, combed her black hair with a golden comb, and when she had finished, placed the comb on the bank; then she watched the water impatiently. Soon she heard a rushing sound, and a big wave rose suddenly and swept the comb off the bank, and a minute after the head of her husband rose from the pond and gazed sadly at her. But immediately another wave came, and the head sank back into the water without having said a word. The pond lay still and motionless, glittering in the moonshine, and the hunter’s wife was not a bit better off than she had been before.
In despair she wandered about for days and nights, and at last, worn out by fatigue, she sank once more into a deep sleep, and dreamt exactly the same dream about the old witch. So next morning she went again to the flowery meadow and sought the witch in her hut, and told her of her grief. The old woman counselled her to go to the mill-pond the next full moon and play upon a golden flute, and then to lay the flute on the bank.
As soon as the next moon was full the hunter’s wife went to the mill-pond, played on a golden flute, and when she had finished placed it on the bank. Then a rushing sound was heard, and a wave swept the flute off the bank, and soon the head of the hunter appeared and rose up higher and higher till he was half out of the water. Then he gazed sadly at his wife and stretched out his arms towards her. But another rushing wave arose and dragged him under once more. The hunter’s wife, who had stood on the bank full of joy and hope, sank into despair when she saw her husband snatched away again before her eyes.
But for her comfort she dreamt the same dream a third time, and betook herself once more to the old witch’s hut in the flowery meadow. This time the old woman told her to go the next full moon to the mill-pond, and to spin there with a golden spinning-wheel, and then to leave the spinning-wheel on the bank.
The hunter’s wife did as she was advised, and the first night the moon was full she sat and spun with a golden spinning-wheel, and then left the wheel on the bank. In a few minutes a rushing sound was heard in the waters, and a wave swept the spinning-wheel from the bank. Immediately the head of the hunter rose up from the pond, getting higher and higher each moment, till at length he stepped on to the bank and fell on his wife’s neck.
But the waters of the pond rose up suddenly, overflowed the bank where the couple stood, and dragged them under the flood. In her despair the young wife called on the old witch to help her, and in a moment the hunter was turned into a frog and his wife into a toad. But they were not able to remain together, for the water tore them apart, and when the flood was over they both resumed their own shapes again, but the hunter and the hunter’s wife found themselves each in a strange country, and neither knew what had become of the other.
‘A wave swept the spinning-wheel from the bank’
The hunter determined to become a shepherd, and his wife too became a shepherdess. So they herded their sheep for many years in solitude and sadness.
Now it happened once that the shepherd came to the country where the shepherdess lived. The neighbourhood pleased him, and he saw that the pasture was rich and suitable for his flocks. So he brought his sheep there, and herded them as before. The shepherd and shepherdess became great friends, but they did not recognise each other in the least.
But one evening when the moon was full they sat together watching their flocks, and the shepherd played upon his flute. Then the shepherdess thought of that evening when she had sat at the full moon by the mill-pond and had played on the golden flute; the recollection was too much for her, and she burst into tears. The shepherd asked her why she was crying, and left her no peace till she told him all her story. Then the scales fell from the shepherd’s eyes, and he recognised his wife, and she him. So they returned joyfully to their own home, and lived in peace and happiness ever after.
Story DNA
Moral
Rash promises can have unforeseen and dire consequences, but true love and perseverance can overcome even the most formidable obstacles.
Plot Summary
A desperate miller promises his newborn son to a nixy for renewed wealth. Years later, the son is claimed by the nixy. His devoted wife, guided by a witch, makes three attempts at the full moon with golden objects to retrieve him. On the third attempt, he is freed, but the couple is dragged under, transformed into animals, and separated. After years apart, they meet as shepherds, recognize each other through a shared memory, and are joyfully reunited.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Nixies are a common motif in Germanic folklore, often associated with rivers, lakes, and ponds, sometimes benevolent but more often malevolent or tricky, demanding sacrifices or luring people to their deaths.
Plot Beats (17)
- A wealthy miller loses everything and is in despair.
- He encounters a nixy at the mill-pond who promises to restore his wealth in exchange for the 'youngest thing in his house'.
- The miller agrees, believing it to be an animal, but returns home to find his wife has given birth to a son.
- The miller becomes rich again, but lives in fear, keeping his son away from the pond.
- Years pass, the son grows into a hunter, marries, and accidentally goes to the mill-pond to wash his hands after hunting.
- The nixy seizes the hunter and drags him into the water.
- The hunter's wife, distraught, dreams of an old witch who can help her.
- The wife finds the witch, who instructs her to go to the pond at the full moon with a golden comb, use it, and leave it on the bank.
- The wife does so; a wave takes the comb, and her husband's head briefly appears before sinking again.
- The wife dreams of the witch again, who instructs her to use a golden flute at the next full moon.
- The wife plays the flute; a wave takes it, and her husband rises half out of the water before being pulled back down.
- The wife dreams of the witch a third time, who instructs her to use a golden spinning-wheel at the next full moon.
- The wife spins; a wave takes the wheel, and her husband fully emerges from the pond.
- The pond waters rise, dragging the couple under, transforming them into a frog and a toad, and then separating them into different countries.
- Years later, both are shepherds in different lands, meet, and become friends without recognizing each other.
- One full moon evening, the shepherd plays his flute, triggering the shepherdess's memory of the pond, causing her to cry and tell her story.
- The shepherd recognizes his wife, and she him, leading to their joyful reunion and return home.
Characters
The Miller
A man of average height and build, initially appearing worn and despairing due to poverty, later becoming well-fed and prosperous but still carrying a burdened expression. His hands are likely calloused from years of work at the mill.
Attire: Initially, simple, worn, practical peasant clothing made of coarse linen or wool in muted earth tones. Later, as he prospers, he would wear more substantial, well-made garments, perhaps a sturdy tunic and breeches of finer wool, but still practical for his trade, not overly ornate.
Wants: To escape poverty and regain his former prosperity; later, to protect his son from the nixy.
Flaw: His desperation for wealth leads him to make a rash, terrible bargain without fully understanding the cost.
Starts in despair, gains wealth through a dark bargain, lives in fear, and ultimately fails to protect his son from the consequences of his actions. He does not undergo a significant personal transformation.
Despairing, desperate, easily swayed by promises of wealth, regretful, fearful, protective (of his son).
The Nixy
A beautiful, ethereal woman with pale, almost translucent skin, appearing as if made of water. Her form is fluid and graceful, with an otherworldly beauty that belies her dangerous nature. She is often seen rising from or submerged in water.
Attire: She wears no conventional clothing, but rather appears draped in what seems like shimmering, translucent water or mist, clinging to her form like a gown. It might have a faint greenish or bluish tint, appearing both ethereal and substantial.
Wants: To claim what was promised to her; to draw humans into her watery domain.
Flaw: None explicitly stated; she seems to be an unstoppable force of nature within her domain.
She remains a constant, unchanging force throughout the story, representing the inescapable consequences of a rash bargain.
Deceptive, patient, powerful, relentless in claiming what is owed, alluring.
The Hunter
A strong, agile young man, well-built from a life of hunting. He is described as 'smart and bold,' suggesting a confident bearing and healthy physique. Later, as a shepherd, he would appear more weathered and solitary.
Attire: As a hunter, he would wear practical, durable clothing suitable for the woods: sturdy leather jerkin, linen shirt, wool breeches, and tall leather boots, likely in greens, browns, and muted earth tones. As a shepherd, similar practical but simpler attire, perhaps a rough wool tunic and trousers.
Wants: To live a happy life with his wife; later, to survive and eventually reunite with her.
Flaw: Unknowingly falls victim to his father's bargain, drawn by a simple act of washing his hands.
Starts as a happy, skilled hunter, is tragically taken by the nixy, transformed into a frog, then separated from his wife. He endures years of solitude as a shepherd, eventually reuniting with his wife through a shared memory and music, finding happiness again.
Bold, skilled, loving (towards his wife), sorrowful, resilient, patient.
The Hunter's Wife
A pretty young woman, initially vibrant and happy, but quickly becomes worn with grief and fatigue. Later, as a shepherdess, she appears resilient but still carries a deep sadness.
Attire: Initially, simple but well-made peasant dresses, perhaps of linen or cotton in soft colors, reflecting her status as a hunter's wife. During her quest, her clothes would become more worn. As a shepherdess, she would wear practical, durable wool or linen dresses in muted tones, perhaps with a simple apron.
Wants: To rescue her husband from the nixy; later, to find happiness and reunion.
Flaw: Her overwhelming grief can lead to despair and exhaustion.
Starts as a happy newlywed, is plunged into deep grief and embarks on a determined quest to save her husband, enduring repeated disappointments. She is transformed into a toad, separated, and lives years as a shepherdess, eventually reuniting with her husband through a shared memory and finding lasting happiness.
Loving, determined, persistent, sorrowful, resilient, resourceful (following her dreams).
The Old Witch
An ancient woman, likely small and hunched with age, but with eyes that are sharp and knowing. Her skin would be wrinkled and weathered from living outdoors.
Attire: Simple, rustic, and practical clothing made of coarse, undyed wool or linen, likely in dark, earthy tones. Perhaps a hooded cloak or shawl to ward off the elements, and sturdy, worn shoes. Her attire would suggest a life lived close to nature.
Wants: To offer guidance to those who seek it, perhaps upholding a balance or simply following ancient ways.
Flaw: None apparent; she seems to be a source of ancient wisdom.
She remains a static character, a source of wisdom and aid, but does not undergo personal change.
Wise, cryptic, helpful (when sought out), ancient, solitary.
Locations
The Mill-Pond
A body of water adjacent to a miller's property, where a white woman, the nixy, rises from the waves. Later, it is the site where the hunter is dragged under and where his wife performs rituals to retrieve him.
Mood: Mysterious, foreboding, later desperate and hopeful, then despairing
The miller's pact with the nixy, the hunter's abduction, and the wife's attempts to rescue him.
Flowery Meadow with Witch's Hut
A vibrant meadow filled with flowers, where an old witch lives in a small hut. The wife visits this place multiple times seeking guidance.
Mood: Hopeful, mystical, secluded
The hunter's wife receives counsel from the witch on how to retrieve her husband from the nixy.
Shepherd's Pasture
A vast, open pastureland suitable for grazing sheep, where the separated hunter and his wife, now shepherds, eventually reunite.
Mood: Solitary, melancholic, eventually joyful
The hunter and his wife, disguised as shepherds, meet and recognize each other, leading to their reunion.