This forest scene, with a deer drinking water proffered by two water sprites, was Schwind¿s own invention. The painting depicts the spirit of nature at work in the darkest depths of the forest, rather than an episode from a literary source. Schack wrote of the picture: `One seems to hear a stirring and a whispering in every blade of grass. And in his mind¿s eye the beholder involuntarily sees images from the fairytale world embodied in the nixes.¿