The Song of Hiawatha   ::   Longfellow Henry Wadsworth

"Still their glittering lodge is seen there,

On the tranquil Summer evenings,

And upon the shore the fisher

Sometimes hears their happy voices,

Sees them dancing in the starlight !"

When the story was completed,

When the wondrous tale was ended,

Looking round upon his listeners,

Solemnly Iagoo added:

"There are great men, I have known such,

Whom their people understand not,

Whom they even make a jest of,

Scoff and jeer at in derision.

From the story of Osseo

Let us learn the fate of jesters!"

All the wedding guests delighted

Listened to the marvellous story,

Listened laughing and applauding,

And they whispered to each other:

"Does he mean himself, I wonder?

And are we the aunts and uncles?"

Then again sang Chibiabos,

Sang a song of love and longing,

In those accents sweet and tender,

In those tones of pensive sadness,

Sang a maiden's lamentation

For her lover, her Algonquin.

"When I think of my beloved,

Ah me! think of my beloved,

When my heart is thinking of him,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!

"Ah me! when I parted from him,

Round my neck he hung the wampum,

As a pledge, the snow-white wampum,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!

"`I will go with you,' he whispered,

'Ah me! to your native country;

Let me go with you,' he whispered,

'O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!'

'Far away, away,' I answered,

'Very far away,' I answered,

'Ah me! is my native country,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!'

"When I looked back to behold him,

Where we parted, to behold him,

After me he still was gazing,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!

"By the tree he still was standing,

By the fallen tree was standing,

That had dropped into the water,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!

"When I think of my beloved,

Ah me! think of my beloved,

When my heart is thinking of him,

O my sweetheart, my Algonquin!"

Such was Hiawatha's Wedding,

Such the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis,

Such the story of Iagoo,

Such the songs of Chibiabos;

Thus the wedding banquet ended,

And the wedding guests departed,

Leaving Hiawatha happy

With the night and Minnehaha.