Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth - LightNovelsOnl.com
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10.
'What's this now, goodwife?
What's this I see?
How came this sword here, Without the leave o' me?'
'A sword?' quo' she.
'Ay, a sword,' quo' he.
11.
'Shame fa' your cuckold face, Ill mat ye see!
It's but a porridge-spurtle, My minnie sent to me.'
'A spurtle?' quo' he.
'Ay, a spurtle,' quo' she.
12.
'Far hae I ridden, And farer hae I gane, But siller-handed spurtles I saw never nane.'
13.
Hame came our goodman, And hame came he; There he spy'd a powder'd wig, Where nae wig shoud be.
14.
'What's this now, goodwife?
What's this I see?
How came this wig here, Without the leave o' me?'
'A wig?' quo' she.
'Ay, a wig,' quo' he.
15.
'Shame fa' your cuckold face, And ill mat you see!
'Tis naething but a clocken-hen, My minnie sent to me.'
'Clocken hen?' quo' he.
'Ay, clocken hen,' quo' she.
16.
'Far hae I ridden, And farer hae I gane, But powder on a clocken-hen I saw never nane.'
17.
Hame came our goodman, And hame came he, And there he saw a muckle coat, Where nae coat shoud be.
18.
'What's this now, goodwife?
What's this I see?
How came this coat here, Without the leave o' me?'
'A coat?' quo' she.
'Ay, a coat,' quo' he.
19.
'Shame fa' your cuckold face, Ill mat ye see!
It's but a pair o' blankets, My minnie sent to me.'
'Blankets?' quo' he.
'Ay, blankets,' quo' she.
20.
'Far hae I ridden, And farer hae I gane, But b.u.t.tons upon blankets I saw never nane.'
21.
Ben went our goodman, And ben went he, And there he spy'd a st.u.r.dy man, Where nae man shoud be.
22.
'What's this now, goodwife?
What's this I see?
How came this man here, Without the leave o' me?'
'A man?' quo' she.
'Ay, a man,' quo' he.
23.
'Poor blind body, And blinder mat ye be!
It's a new milking-maid, My mither sent to me.'
'A maid?' quo' he.
'Ay, a maid,' quo' she.
24.
'Far hae I ridden, And farer hae I gane, But lang-bearded maidens I saw never nane.'
[Annotations: 3.2: 'mat,' may.
3.3: 'broad,' brood: _i.e._ a sow that has a litter.
3.4: 'minnie,' mother.
11.3: 'porridge-spurtle,' stick for stirring porridge.
15.3: 'clocken-hen,' sitting hen.
21.1: 'Ben,' indoors, or into the inner room.]
THE FRIAR IN THE WELL
+The Text+ is taken from Buchan's MSS., the Scots version being rather more condensed than the corresponding English broadside. There is a reference to this ballad in Munday's _Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington_ (1598); but earlier still, Skelton hints at it in _Colyn Cloute_.
+The Story+ can be paralleled in French, Danish, and Persian ballads and tales, but is simple enough to have been invented by almost any people.
Compare also the story of _The Wright's Chaste Wife_ by Adam of Cobsam, E.E.T.S., 1865, ed. F. J. Furnivall.
THE FRIAR IN THE WELL
1.
O hearken and hear, and I will you tell _Sing, Faldidae, faldidadi_ Of a friar that loved a fair maiden well.
_Sing, Faldi dadi di di_ (_bis_)
