In the later Romantic folklore and folklore-inspired stories of the 19th century, the "nøkk" sings about his loneliness and his longing for salvation, which he purportedly never shall receive, as he is not "a child of God". In a poem by Swedish poet E. J. Stagnelius, a little boy pities the fate of the "nøkk", and so saves his own life. In the poem, arguably Stagnelius' most famous, the boy says that the "Näck" ("nøkk") will never be a "child of God" which brings "tears to his face" as he "never plays again in the silvery brook".