
In a remote corner of Swabia, a rugged knight known as Wackermann Uhlfinger rules his crumbling castle with a fearsome reputation—his name alone sends travelers fleeing. Yet behind the iron armor lies a gentle husband, a devoted father, and a tender husband to his virtuous wife, who tends their modest household and cares for their two daughters. The lady finds solace in a secluded spring at the foot of the hill, a place whispered to be home to a water‑nymph, and she often slips away there to breathe and perform quiet acts of kindness.
When Wackermann disappears on a raiding expedition, the lady’s heart is torn between dread and hope. She wanders to the crystal‑clear grotto under the moon, where a pale, wavering figure appears— the legendary nymph of the spring. The sudden vision stirs ancient legends and raises a haunting question about her husband’s fate, drawing the listener into a tale of love, superstition, and the thin line between bravery and terror.
Language
de
Duration
~1 hours (69K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Alexander Bauer, Jana Srna, Irma Spehar, Markus Brenner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2008-05-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1735–1787
An early collector of German folk stories, this Enlightenment-era writer gave old tales a sly, witty twist. Best known for Volksmärchen der Deutschen, he helped shape the literary afterlife of folklore long before the Brothers Grimm.
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