There was a little jackdaw
Lived on a vane;
He was a very black daw,
Shiny in the rain.
There was a boy in gold;
There was a girl in green;
The lad was very bold;
The maid was more serene.
There was a little church;
It had a little steeple;
The jackdaw on his perch
Cawed at the people.
This little golden boy
And green damosel
Did make it their employ
Their loves for to tell.
And early in the morning,
It came into their head
Themselves to be adorning
And go for to be wed.
The girl in green did stammer
At saying _I take thee_;
Gaffer said, and Gammer,
“What a pair they be!”
The yellow boy was bolder,
And spoke up like a king,
As if he had been older--
Hark, the bells ring!
In pops the jackdaw
At the belfry-door;
“Caw!” says the jackdaw,
“One peal more!”
[Illustration]