"Why is this my fault again?" Lorelei sat on the edge of the Rhine, glaring at the poet who sat on the bank above her.
"You're a Siren, a temptress who lures men to their doom." The poet blinked at her.
"Heinrich, you're sitting right there. You've listened to me sing. You have neither thrown yourself into the river, nor succumbed to my wiles." She rolled her eyes. "So, I repeat, why is it my fault?"
"It's, it's a better story?" His voice faltered.
"A better story that makes me the villain." Lorelei flipped the end of her tail in the water making small splashes. "I thought you liked me."
"I do. I just, this is what people want to see, to hear. About mythological..." Heinrich had started to get worked up into oration.
"Stop, stop, stop. Heinrich, does this feel mythological to you?" She slapped the water with her tail, splashing him, even where he sat up the bank. He sputtered. "This is why we quit talking to people. I thought you were different. I thought you liked me for me, not for what you could make of me." She glared up at him, lower lip quivering just slightly. "Good-bye, Heinrich. I wish you well." She slipped into the water and vanished.
Heinrich stared after her, then slowly got to his feet and began the walk back into town.
((Referencing this poem: http://poemsintranslation.blogspot.com/2009/11/heinrich-heine-lorelei-from-german.html ))