I dreamt that I was sitting by a waterfall
Weak with desire; - time flew by
And, while it paused for a moment, it offered me
A beaker surrounded by greenery
So that I could drink oblivion from Lethe's spring.
I wanted to offer thanks - I wanted to ask
How this gift was to be used.
But it  soon fled off, oblivion was new to me,
I could only lament its flight.
Then a zephyr came along with a light step
And a small guardian spirit sprang up:
It gestured to me: "I shall lead you into that grove. Come with me!"
I quickly jumped up and followed the beauteous youth.
Before I could realise it I was in the grove of the Muses;
A solemn silence reigned there.
"Take  this" - said the guardian spirit, it is Apollo's will - 
"Take this stringed instrument, you will not desecrate it.
In melancholy hours it has the power
With its notes to heal those wounds
Which misfortune and grief have inflicted.
With tender, stirring chords
It resounds from the south to the north
And overtakes the flight of time."
I now breathed freely;
Apollo's gift, the golden lyre,
Was my companion day and night.
At first I only sang small songs,
And people said they liked them;
But girls do not like girl poets,
I sang too loudly and Echo repeated it,
What each young heart desires and expects.
I was therefore now able to sing with an unclouded mind,
Partly happy, partly lamenting, as I followed the inclination of spring.
On a sultry summer's day
As Phoebus was leading his steed downwards
And was gradually sinking into the sea,
My lament rang out loud:
"Apollo, beauteous god of the sun,
Take your gift back! . . The happiness
That it created for me, I thank you for that.
Grant me immortality in return!" -
" Your wish is extremely strange"
Apollo replied, "yet I shall grant it:
Since you are going to risk the danger
That threatens you, will you now swear to me?"  -
Then Pegasus stamped his feet and hesitated over the instruction
That he should take commands from me - from me!
The idea that he, who always preferred to carry only men,
Should be led by a girl's hand, on a rapid flight
From one old man to another, as I chose,
Moving on at a firm trot.
He really did not approve. - The gentle female rider
Was nevertheless given a lift by elevated fantasies;
And she beheld with blissful delight,
With enthusiastic loving looks,
She could already see into the realm of the distant future. - 
She snuggled up like Bürger's Leonore,
In that aweful nightmare in the black dungeon,
With her spirit holding firmly to her beloved,
And instead of Wilhelm her longed-for spouse, she held
Only his skeleton and his pale shadow
In her arms - oh, agonising madness! - 
That is how they went with hanging reins,
Without being held back, across valleys and hills,
At a roaring gallop through thorns and thistles;
Airy shapes too, just as they had elsewhere,
Fluttered around their  path, Envy bared its teeth here,
(I held on to the flying horse's mane) - 
Over there is Jealousy grinding its teeth wearily and obtusely,
And here, rising from the marsh that is overgrown with reeds,
Is a will o' the wisp, aiming to lead us astray;
Yet Pegasus never allowed me to go off course. -
I am thankful to him for this from the depths of my heart,
He carried me to the goal without taking fright,
Despite so many rough, cold winds,
Through impassable violent storms,
Towards that terrifying bridge
Where centuries pass across.
An incomprehensible mumbling meant
That I woke up after this long dream.

Here at the border between the past
And the future I have determined to stand,
I shall snatch the songs and the tender branches
Of the youthful garland from oblivion. - 
You songs, which give pleasure to so many friends,
I shall dedicate you to future centuries.