The Water Nixie

In the Grimm Brothers' literary tale collected from Hanau, the Water Nixie appears as a localized water-being tied to a well where a brother and sister fall and are seized. The tale presents her within the story-world as an animate presence attached to that watery place who detains the human victims and compels them into servitude. The supplied source frames her role narratively, as the antagonist whose custody of the children sets in motion a transformation-chase episode rather than offering a broader myth of origin or genealogy.

No physical description of the Water Nixie is given in the Grimm synopsis provided; the tale emphasizes her actions—catching the children, making them work, and pursuing them—rather than bodily or facial features. The surviving materials therefore record functional behavior and narrative role but do not preserve visual detail about her form or attire.

Within the tale the Water Nixie seizes human victims who fall into her well and compels them to labor for her. She is capable of pursuing the fugitives beyond the water and across the landscape in an effort to recapture them. During the narrated chase she manages to get through two transforming obstacles (a brush-made mountain of spikes and a comb-made mountain of teeth) "with great effort," but is halted by a third obstacle — a mirror-made mountain that is too slick for her to climb, after which she returns to fetch an axe but fails to recapture the children before they escape. The story thus presents her as persistent and strong enough to surmount difficult barriers, yet not invulnerable.