Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Part 47

He plunged his steed into the ford, And straught way thro' he rade, And she set in her lilly feet, And thro' the water wade.

11.

And whan she cam to the king's court, She tirled on the pin, And wha sae ready's the king himsel'

To let the fair maid in?

12.

'What is your will wi' me, fair maid?

What is your will wi' me?'

'There is a man into your court This day has robbed me.'

13.

'O has he taen your gold,' he said, 'Or has he taen your fee?

Or has he stown your maidenhead, The flower of your bodye?'

14.

'He has na taen my gold, kind sir, Nor as little has he taen my fee, But he has taen my maidenhead, The flower of my bodye.'

15.

'O gif he be a married man, High hangit shall he be, But gif he be a bachelor, His body I'll grant thee.'

16.

'Sometimes they call him Jack,' she said, 'Sometimes they call him John, But when he's in the king's court, His name is Sweet William.'

17.

'There's not a William in a' my court, Never a one but three, And one of them is the Queen's brother; I wad laugh gif it war he.'

18.

The king called on his merry men, By thirty and by three; Sweet Willie, wha used to be foremost man, Was the hindmost a' but three.

19.

O he cam cripple, and he cam blind, Cam twa-fald o'er a tree: 'O be he cripple, or be he blind, This very same man is he.'

20.

'O whether will ye marry the bonny may, Or hang on the gallows-tree?'

'O I will rather marry the bonny may, Afore that I do die.'

21.

But he took out a purse of gold, Weel locked in a glove: 'O tak ye that, my bonny may, And seek anither love.'

22.

'O I will hae none o' your gold,' she says, 'Nor as little ony of your fee, But I will hae your ain body, The king has granted me.'

23.

O he took out a purse of gold; A purse of gold and store; 'O tak ye that, fair may,' he said, 'Frae me ye'll ne'er get mair.'

24.

'O haud your tongue, young man,' she says, 'And I pray you let me be; For I will hae your ain body, The king has granted me.'

25.

He mounted her on a bonny bay horse, Himsel' on the silver grey; He drew his bonnet out o'er his een, He whipt and rade away.

26.

O whan they cam to yon nettle bush, The nettles they war spread: 'O an my mither war but here,' she says, 'These nettles she wad sned.'

27.

'O an I had drank the wan water Whan I did drink the wine, That e'er a shepherd's dochter Should hae been a love o' mine!'

28.

'O may be I'm a shepherd's dochter, And may be I am nane!

But you might hae ridden on your ways, And hae let me alane.'

29.

O whan they cam unto yon mill She heard the mill clap: ... ... ...

30.

'Clap on, clap on, thou bonny mill, Weel may thou, I say, For mony a time thou's filled my pock Wi' baith oat-meal and grey.'

31.

'O an I had drank the wan water Whan I did drink the wine, That e'er a shepherd's dochter Should hae been a love o' mine!'

32.

'O may be I'm a shepherd's dochter, And may be I am nane; But you might hae ridden on your ways, And hae let me alane.

33.

'But yet I think a fitter match Could scarcely gang thegither Than the King of France's auld dochter And the Queen of Scotland's brither.'

[Annotations: 8.2: 'weel,' advantage. So, in the comparative, 'better,' 9.2.

19.2: 'twa-fald o'er a tree,' bent double on a stick.

26.4: 'Sned,' cut, lop.

29.2: Two lines wanting in the MS.

30.3: 'pock,' bag.

30.4: 'grey,' _i.e._ grey meal, barley.]

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+The Text+ is from Herd's _Ancient and Modern Scots Songs_ (1769), which is almost identical with a copy in Johnson's _Museum_. Another variant, also given in the _Museum_, was contributed by Burns, who made it shorter and more dramatic.

+The Story+ of this farcical ballad has long been popular in many lands, European and Oriental, and has been introduced as an episode in English, French, and German plays. A close parallel to the ballad may be found in Straparola, Day VIII., first story.

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