The Nixie of the Mill-Pond
"The Nixie of the Mill-Pond" is a German fairy tale that tells the story of a man captured by a nix and his wife's efforts to save him. The Brothers Grimm collected the tale in their Grimm's Fairy Tales (1857) as tale number 181. A note in the volume indicated that it was current in Upper Lusatia when the story was collected. Andrew Lang included a version in The Yellow Fairy Book, citing his source Hermann Kletke and titling it The Nixy.
An illustration of the Nixie waiting in the mill pond by Otto Ubbelohde
The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore.
Nøkken by Theodor Kittelsen, 1904
Näckens polska by Bror Hjorth
Näcken ("The Water Sprite") by Ernst Josephson, 1884
The Neck as a brook horse by Theodor Kittelsen, a depiction of the Neck as a white horse