about 1185, considerably before the earliest date which has hitherto been
proposed for the compilation of the Gesta, has this story, with
variations, of which only these require to be noted. The lady has herself
been a student in magic. She is wooed of many; all comers are received,
and pay a hundred marks; any one who accomplishes his will may wed her the
next day. An enchanted feather of a screech-owl, laid under the pillow,
makes all who enter the bed fall asleep at once, and many have been
baffled by this charm. At last a youth of high birth, but small means,
tries his fortune, and, failing at the first essay, tries once more.
Thinking that the softness of his couch was the cause of his falling
asleep, he puts away the pillow, and in this process the feather is thrown
out: Iohannis de Alta Silva Dolopathos, ed. Oesterley, pp 57-59; Herbers,
Li Romans de Dolopathos, Brunet et Montaiglon, vv 7096-7498, pp 244-59; Le
Roux de Lincy, in a sequel to Loiseleur-Deslongchamps's Essai sur les
Fables indiennes, pp 211 ff. This form of the tale is found in German, in
a fifteenth-century manuscript, from which it was printed by Haupt in
Altdeutsche Blätter, I, 143-49; but here the sleep is produced by the use
of _both_ the means employed in the Gesta and in Dolopathos, letter
(runes) and feather, "the wild man's feather."[370]
Magic is dropped, and a sleeping draught administered, just as the man
is going to bed, in a version of the story in the Pecorone of Ser
Giovanni Fiorentino, Giornata, IV^a, Nov. 1_{a} (last quarter of the
fourteenth century). Upon the third trial the man, warned by a friendly
chambermaid not to drink, pours the medicated wine into his bosom. The
account of Ser Giovanni is adopted in Les Adventures d'Abdalla fils
d'Hanif, etc., La Haye, 1713, Bibliothèque de Romans, 1778, Janvier, I,
112-14, 143 f.
Ellin writes sleep-runes on the cushions on which her husband is to
sleep, in the Danish ballad 'Frændehævn,' Grundtvig, No 4, #A# 33 [#C#
45].
In Icelandic tales a sleep-thorn[371] is employed, probably a thorn
inscribed with runes. The thorn is stuck into the clothes or into the
head (the ears, according to the popular notion, Vigfusson), and the
sleep lasts till the thorn is taken out. Odin stuck such a thorn into
Brynhild's garments: Fáfnismál, 43; Sigrdrífumál, 7; Völsúnga Saga,
Fornaldar Sögur, I, 166. The thorn is put into the clothes also in the
Icelandic fairy-tale, Mærþöll, Maurer, Isländische Volkssagen, p. 286.
Ólöf, to save herself from Helgi's violence, and to punish his
insolence, sticks him with a sleep-thorn after he is dead drunk: Hrólfs
Saga Kraka, Forn. S. I, 18f, Torfæus, p. 32. Vilhjálmr sticks a
sleep-thorn into Hrólfr, and he lies as if dead so long as the thorn is
in him: Gaungu-Hrólfs Saga, Forn. S., III, 303, 306.
A pillow of soporific quality, which Kamele, by Isot's direction, puts
under Kaedin's head, assures her safety though she lies all night by his
side: Ulrich's continuation of Gottfried's Tristan, vv 1668-99, 1744-85;
and Heinrich's continuation, omitting the last circumstance, vv
4861-4960 (J. Grimm).
The witch-woman, in the English ballad, #A# 4, represents the
philosopher in the Gesta, and the wager in the other versions the fee or
fine exacted by the lady in the Gesta and elsewhere.
An Italian ballad, a slight and unmeritable thing, follows the story of
Ser Giovanni, or agrees with it, in respect to the sleeping-draught. A
man falls in with a girl at a spring, and offers her a hundred ducats,
or scudi, per una nottina. The girl says that she must consult her
mother. The mother advises her to accept the offer: she will give the
man a drug, and the money will serve for a dowry. The man, roused in the
morning, counts out the money with one hand and wipes his eyes with the
other. When asked why he is crying, he replies that the money is not the
loss he weeps for, and makes a second offer of the same amount. The girl
wishes to refer the matter to her mother again, but the gallant says the
mother shall not take him in a second time. One version (#A#) ends
somewhat more respectably: the girl declares that, having come off with
her honor once, she will not again expose herself to shame. #A.#
Ferraro, Canti popolari monferrini, 'La Ragazza onesta,' p. 66, No 47.
#B.# Ferraro, C. p. di Ferrara, Cento e Pontelagoscuro, p. 53 (Cento) No
4, 'La Ragazza onesta.' #C.# The same, p. 94 (Pontelagoscuro) No 8, 'La
Brunetta,' previously in Rivista di Filologia Romanza, II, 200. #D.#
Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, p. 74, 'La Contadina alla Fonte.' #E.#
Bernoni, C. p. veneziani, Puntata V, No 4, p. 6, 'La bella Brunetta.'
#F.# Bolza, Canzoni p. comasche, p. 677, No 57, 'L'Amante deluso.' #G.#
Ive, C. p. istriani, p. 324, No 4, 'La Contadina alla Fonte.' #H.#
Ginandrea, C. p. marchigiani, p. 277, No 12, 'La Madre indegna.' #I.#
Ferraro, C. p. della Bassa Romagna, Rivista di Letteratura popolare, p.
57, 'La Ragazza onesta.' #J.# Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. della Provincie
meridionali, p. 1, No 1 (Chieti), the first sixteen verses. #K.#
Archivio per Tradizioni popolari, I, 89, No 4, 'La Fandéll e lu
Cavalére,' the first thirteen lines.
'The Sleepy Merchant,' a modern ballad, in Kinloch's MSS, V, 26, was
perhaps fashioned on some traditional report of the story in Il
Pecorone. The girl gives the merchant a drink, and when the sun is up
starts to her feet, crying, "I'm a leal maiden yet!" The merchant comes
back, and gets another dram, but "tooms it a' between the bolster and
the wa," and then sits up and sings.
A ballad found everywhere in Germany, but always in what appears to be
an extremely defective form, must originally, one would think, have had
some connection with those which we are considering. A hunter meets a
girl on the heath, and takes her with him to his hut, where they pass
the night. She rouses him in the morning, and proclaims herself still a
maid. The hunter is so chagrined that he is of a mind to kill her, but
spares her life. 'Der Jäger,' 'Der ernsthafte Jäger,' 'Des Jägers
Verdruss,' 'Der Jäger und die reine Jungfrau,' 'Der verschlafene Jäger:'
Meinert, p. 203; Wunderhorn, 1857, I, 274, Birlinger u. Crecelius, I,
190; Büsching u. von der Hagen, p. 134, No 51; Nicolai, Almanach, I, 77
(fragment); Erk u. Irmer, ii, 12, No 15; Meier, p. 305, No 170; Pröhle,
No 54, p. 81; Fiedler, p. 175; Erk, Liederhort, pp 377 f, Nos 174,
174^a; Hoffmann u. Richter, p. 202, No 176; Ditfurth, Fränkische
Volkslieder, II, 26 f, Nos 30, 31; Norrenberg, Des dülkener Fiedlers
Liederbuch, No 16, p. 20; J. A. E. Köhler, Volksbrauch im Voigtlande, p.
307; Jeitteles, Volkslied in Steiermark, Archiv für Lit. gesch., IX,
361, etc.; Uhland, No 104, Niederdeutsches Liederbuch, No 59,
'vermuthlich vom Eingang des 17. Jhd.' Cf. Die Mâeget, Flemish,
Büsching u. von der Hagen, p. 311; Willems, p. 160, No 61.[372]
#A a# is translated by Doenniges, p. 3; by Gerhard, p. 146; by Arndt,
Blütenlese, p. 226.
A
#a.# Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 271, ed. 1803. #b.# Sts.
8-14; the same, II, 229, ed. 1802.
1
There was a knight and a lady bright,
Had a true tryste at the broom;
The ane gaed early in the morning,
The other in the afternoon.
2
And ay she sat in her mother's bower door,
And ay she made her mane:
'O whether should I gang to the Broomfield Hill,
Or should I stay at hame?
3
'For if I gang to the Broomfield Hill,
My maidenhead is gone;
And if I chance to stay at hame,
My love will ca me mansworn.'
4
Up then spake a witch-woman,
Ay from the room aboon:
'O ye may gang to the Broomfield Hill,
And yet come maiden hame.
5
'For when ye gang to the Broomfield Hill,
Ye'll find your love asleep,
With a silver belt about his head,
And a broom-cow at his feet.
6
'Take ye the blossom of the broom,
The blossom it smells sweet,
And strew it at your true-love's head,
And likewise at his feet.
7
'Take ye the rings off your fingers,
Put them on his right hand,
To let him know, when he doth awake,
His love was at his command.'
8
She pu'd the broom flower on Hive Hill,
And strewd on 's white hals-bane,
And that was to be wittering true
That maiden she had gane.
9
'O where were ye, my milk-white steed,
That I hae coft sae dear,
That wadna watch and waken me
When there was maiden here?'
10
'I stamped wi my foot, master,
And gard my bridle ring,
But na kin thing wald waken ye,
Till she was past and gane.'
11
'And wae betide ye, my gay goss-hawk,
That I did love sae dear,
That wadna watch and waken me
When there was maiden here.'
12
'I clapped wi my wings, master,
And aye my bells I rang,
And aye cry'd, Waken, waken, master,
Before the ladye gang.'
13
'But haste and haste, my gude white steed,
To come the maiden till,
Or a' the birds of gude green wood
Of your flesh shall have their fill.'
14
'Ye need na burst your gude white steed
Wi racing oer the howm;
Nae bird flies faster through the wood,
Than she fled through the broom.'
B
Herd, Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 310.
1
'I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you
Five hundred merks and ten,
That a maid shanae go to yon bonny green wood,
And a maiden return agen.'
2
'I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you
Five hundred merks and ten,
That a maid shall go to yon bonny green wood,
And a maiden return agen.'
* * * * * * *
3
She's pu'd the blooms aff the broom-bush,
And strewd them on 's white hass-bane:
'This is a sign whereby you may know
That a maiden was here, but she's gane.'
4
'O where was you, my good gray steed,
That I hae loed sae dear?
O why did you not awaken me
When my true love was here?'
5
'I stamped with my foot, master,
And gard my bridle ring,
But you wadnae waken from your sleep
Till your love was past and gane.'
6
'Now I may sing as dreary a sang
As the bird sung on the brier,
For my true love is far removd,
And I'll neer see her mair.'
C
Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 291.
1
There was a knight and lady bright
Set trysts amo the broom,
The one to come at morning ear,
The other at afternoon.
2
'I'll wager a wager wi you,' he said,
'An hundred merks and ten,
That ye shall not go to Broomfield Hills,
Return a maiden again.'
3
'I'll wager a wager wi you,' she said,
'A hundred pounds and ten,
That I will gang to Broomfield Hills,
A maiden return again.'
4
The lady stands in her bower door,
And thus she made her mane:
'O shall I gang to Broomfield Hills,
Or shall I stay at hame?
5
'If I do gang to Broomfield Hills,
A maid I'll not return;
But if I stay from Broomfield Hills,
I'll be a maid mis-sworn.'
6
Then out it speaks an auld witch-wife,
Sat in the bower aboon:
'O ye shall gang to Broomfield Hills,
Ye shall not stay at hame.
7
'But when ye gang to Broomfield Hills,
Walk nine times round and round;
Down below a bonny burn bank,
Ye'll find your love sleeping sound.
8
'Ye'll pu the bloom frae aff the broom,
Strew 't at his head and feet,
And aye the thicker that ye do strew,
The sounder he will sleep.
9
'The broach that is on your napkin,
Put it on his breast bane,
To let him know, when he does wake,
That's true love's come and gane.
10
'The rings that are on your fingers,
Lay them down on a stane,
To let him know, when he does wake,
That's true love's come and gane.
11
'And when ye hae your work all done,
Ye'll gang to a bush o' broom,
And then you'll hear what he will say,
When he sees ye are gane.'
12
When she came to Broomfield Hills,
She walkd it nine times round,
And down below yon burn bank,
She found him sleeping sound.
13
She pu'd the bloom frae aff the broom,
Strew'd it at 's head and feet,
And aye the thicker that she strewd,
The sounder he did sleep.
14
The broach that was on her napkin,
She put on his breast bane,
To let him know, when he did wake,
His love was come and gane.
15
The rings that were on her fingers,
She laid upon a stane,
To let him know, when he did wake,
His love was come and gane.
16
Now when she had her work all dune,
She went to a bush o broom,
That she might hear what he did say,
When he saw she was gane.
17
'O where were ye, my guid grey hound,
That I paid for sae dear,
Ye didna waken me frae my sleep
When my true love was sae near?'
18
'I scraped wi my foot, master,
Till a' my collars rang,
But still the mair that I did scrape,
Waken woud ye nane.'
19
'Where were ye, my berry-brown steed,
That I paid for sae dear,
That ye woudna waken me out o my sleep
When my love was sae near?'
20
'I patted wi my foot, master,
Till a' my bridles rang,
But still the mair that I did patt,
Waken woud ye nane.'
21
'O where were ye, my gay goss-hawk,
That I paid for sae dear,
That ye woudna waken me out o my sleep
When ye saw my love near?'
22
'I flapped wi my wings, master,
Till a' my bells they rang,
But still the mair that I did flap,
Waken woud ye nane.'
23
'O where were ye, my merry young men,
That I pay meat and fee,
Ye woudna waken me out o' my sleep
When my love ye did see?'
24
'Ye'll sleep mair on the night, master,
And wake mair on the day;
Gae sooner down to Broomfield Hills
When ye've sic pranks to play.
25
'If I had seen any armed men
Come riding over the hill--
But I saw but a fair lady
Come quietly you until.'
26
'O wae mat worth you, my young men,
That I pay meat and fee,
That ye woudna waken me frae sleep
When ye my love did see.
27
'O had I waked when she was nigh,
And o her got my will,
I shoudna cared upon the morn
Tho sma birds o her were fill.'
28
When she went out, right bitter wept,
But singing came she hame;
Says, I hae been at Broomfield Hills,
And maid returnd again.
D
Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 195.
1
'I'll wager, I'll wager,' says Lord John,
'A hundred merks and ten,
That ye winna gae to the bonnie broom-fields,
And a maid return again.'
2
'But I'll lay a wager wi you, Lord John,
A' your merks oure again,
That I'll gae alane to the bonnie broom-fields,
And a maid return again.'
3
Then Lord John mounted his grey steed,
And his hound wi his bells sae bricht,
And swiftly he rade to the bonny broom-fields,
Wi his hawks, like a lord or knicht.
4
'Now rest, now rest, my bonnie grey steed,
My lady will soon be here,
And I'll lay my head aneath this rose sae red,
And the bonnie burn sae near.'
5
But sound, sound was the sleep he took,
For he slept till it was noon,
And his lady cam at day, left a taiken and away,
Gaed as licht as a glint o the moon.
6
She strawed the roses on the ground,
Threw her mantle on the brier,
And the belt around her middle sae jimp,
As a taiken that she'd been there.
7
The rustling leaves flew round his head,
And rousd him frae his dream;
He saw by the roses, and mantle sae green,
That his love had been there and was gane.
8
'O whare was ye, my gude grey steed,
That I coft ye sae dear,
That ye didna waken your master,
Whan ye kend that his love was here?'
9
'I pautit wi my foot, master,
Garrd a' my bridles ring,
And still I cried, Waken, gude master,
For now is the hour and time.'
10
'Then whare was ye, my bonnie grey hound,
That I coft ye sae dear,
That ye didna waken your master,
Whan ye kend that his love was here?'
11
'I pautit wi my foot, master,
Garrd a' my bells to ring,
And still I cried, Waken, gude master,
For now is the hour and time.'
12
'But whare was ye, my hawks, my hawks,
That I coft ye sae dear,
That ye didna waken your master,
Whan ye kend that his love was here?'
13
'O wyte na me, now, my master dear,
I garrd a' my young hawks sing,
And still I cried, Waken, gude master,
For now is the hour and time.'
14
'Then be it sae, my wager gane,
'T will skaith frae meikle ill,
For gif I had found her in bonnie broom-fields,
O her heart's blude ye'd drunken your fill.'
E
Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, 1830, p. 7.
1
'I'll wager, I'll wager wi you, fair maid,
Five hunder punds and ten,
That a maid winna gae to the bonnie green bower,
An a maid return back agen.'
2
'I'll wager, I'll wager wi you, kin' sir,
Five hunder punds and ten,
That a maid I'll gang to the bonnie green bower,
An a maid return again.'
3
But when she cam to the bonnie green bower,
Her true-love was fast asleep;
Sumtimes she kist his rosie, rosie lips,
An his breath was wondrous sweet.
4
Sometimes she went to the crown o his head,
Sometimes to the soles o his feet,
Sometimes she kist his rosie, rosie lips,
An his breath was wondrous sweet.
5
She's taen a ring frae her finger,
Laid it upon his breast-bane;
It was for a token that she had been there,
That she had been there, but was gane.
6
'Where was you, where was ye, my merrymen a',
That I do luve sae dear,
That ye didna waken me out o my sleep
When my true love was here?
7
'Where was ye, where was ye, my gay goshawk,
That I do luve sae dear,
That ye didna waken me out o my sleep
When my true love was here?'
8
'Wi my wings I flaw, kin' sir,
An wi my bill I sang,
But ye woudna waken out o yer sleep
Till your true love was gane.'
9
'Where was ye, my bonnie grey steed,
That I do luve sae dear,
That ye didna waken me out o my sleep
When my true love was here?'
10
'I stampit wi my fit, maister,
And made my bridle ring,
But ye wadna waken out o yer sleep,
Till your true love was gane.'
F
#a.# Douce Ballads, III, fol. 64b: Newcastle, printed and
sold by John White, in Pilgrim Street. #b.# Douce Ballads,
IV, fol. 10.
1
A noble young squire that livd in the west,
He courted a young lady gay,
And as he was merry, he put forth a jest,
A wager with her he would lay.
2
'A wager with me?' the young lady reply'd,
'I pray, about what must it be?
If I like the humour you shan't be deny'd;
I love to be merry and free.'
3
Quoth he, 'I will lay you an hundred pounds,
A hundred pounds, aye, and ten,
That a maid if you go to the merry broomfield,
That a maid you return not again.'
4
'I'll lay you that wager,' the lady she said,
Then the money she flung down amain;
'To the merry broomfield I'll go a pure maid,
The same I'll return home again.'
5
He coverd her bett in the midst of the hall
With an hundred and ten jolly pounds,
And then to his servant straightway he did call,
For to bring forth his hawk and his hounds.
6
A ready obedience the servant did yield,
And all was made ready oer night;
Next morning he went to the merry broomfield,
To meet with his love and delight.
7
Now when he came there, having waited a while,
Among the green broom down he lies;
The lady came to him, and coud not but smile,
For sleep then had closed his eyes.
8
Upon his right hand a gold ring she secur'd,
Down from her own finger so fair,
That when he awaked he might be assur'd
His lady and love had been there.
9
She left him a posie of pleasant perfume,
Then stept from the place where he lay;
Then hid herself close in the besom of the broom,
To hear what her true-love would say.
10
He wakend and found the gold ring on his hand,
Then sorrow of heart he was in:
'My love has been here, I do well understand,
And this wager I now shall not win.
11
'O where was you, my goodly gawshawk,
The which I have purchasd so dear?
Why did you not waken me out of my sleep
When the lady, my lover, was here?'
12
'O with my bells did I ring, master,
And eke with my feet did I run;
And still did I cry, Pray awake, master,
She's here now, and soon will be gone.'
13
'O where was you, my gallant greyhound,
Whose collar is flourishd with gold?
Why hadst thou not wakend me out of my sleep
When thou didst my lady behold?'
14
'Dear master, I barkd with my mouth when she came,
And likewise my coller I shook,
And told you that here was the beautiful dame,
But no notice of me then you took.'
15
'O where was thou, my serving-man,
Whom I have cloathed so fine?
If you had wak'd me when she was here,
The wager then had been mine.'
16
'In the night ye should have slept, master,
And kept awake in the day;
Had you not been sleeping when hither she came,
Then a maid she had not gone away.'
17 Then home he returnd, when the wager was lost,
With sorrow of heart, I may say;
The lady she laughd to find her love crost,--
This was upon midsummer-day.
18
'O squire, I laid in the bushes conceald,
And heard you when you did complain;
And thus I have been to the merry broomfield,
And a maid returnd back again.
19
'Be chearful, be chearful, and do not repine,
For now 't is as clear as the sun,
The money, the money, the money is mine,
The wager I fairly have won.'
* * * * *
#A. b.#
8^1. flower frae the bush.
8^3. a witter true.
9^2. I did love.
11^1. gray goshawk.
11^2. sae well.
11^3. When my love was here hersell.
12^4. Afore your true love gang.
13^3. in good.
14^{2-4}.
By running oer the howm;
Nae hare runs swifter oer the lea
Nor your love ran thro the broom.
#E#
_concludes with these stanzas, which do not belong to this
ballad_:
11
'Rise up, rise up, my bonnie grey cock,
And craw when it is day,
An your neck sall be o the beaten gowd,
And your wings o the silver lay.'
12
But the cock provd fauss, and untrue he was,
And he crew three hour ower seen,
The lassie thocht it day, and sent her love away,
An it was but a blink o the meen.
13
'If I had him but agen,' she says,
'O if I but had him agen,
The best grey cock that ever crew at morn
Should never bereave me o 's charms.'
#F. a.#
8^2. fingers.
11^1, 13^1. Oh.
15^2. I am.
#b.#
2^2. I pray you now, what.
3^1. Said he.
3^4. _omits_ That.
4^3. _omits_ pure.
4^4. And the ... back again.
5^2. ten good.
5^3. he strait.
5^4. _omits_ For.
6^1. his servants.
6^2. _omits_ made.
6^4. his joy.
7^4. sleep had fast.
8^2. finger.
9^3. in the midst.
9^4. what her lover.
10^1. Awaking he found.
10^2. of bearst.
10^3. _omits_ do.
11^3. wake.
11^4. and lover.
12^{1,2}. I did.
12^3. wake.
12^4. here and she.
13^3. Why did you not wake.
14^1. I barked aloud when.
14^3. that there was my.
15^2. I have.
15^3. when she had been here.
15^4. had been surely mine.
16^1. _omits_ should.
17^3. to see.
18^1. lay.
18^3. so I.
18^4. have returnd.
#b# _has no imprint._
[366] Furnivall, Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books, pp cxxvii f. Ritson
cited the comedy in the dissertation prefixed to his Ancient Songs,
1790, p. lx.
[367] Motherwell remarks, at page 42 of his Introduction, "The song is
popular still, and is often to be met with." It was printed in a cheap
American song-book, which I have not been able to recover, under the
title of 'The Green Broomfield,' and with some cis-atlantic variations.
Graham's Illustrated Magazine, September, 1858, gives these stanzas:
"Then when she went to the green broom field,
Where her love was fast asleep,
With a gray _goose_-hawk and a green laurel bough,
And a green broom under his feet.
"And when he awoke from out his sleep,
An angry man was he;
He looked to the East, and he looked to the West,
And he wept for his sweetheart to see.
"Oh! where was you, my gray _goose_-hawk,
The hawk that I loved so dear,
That you did not awake me from out my sleep,
When my sweetheart was so near?"
[368] The broadside is also copied into Buchan's MSS, II, 197.
[369] The Anglo-Latin text in Harleian MS. 2270, No 48.
[370] Sy ... bereytte keyn abende das bette met der czöberye met der
schryft und met des wylden mannes veddere, p. 145, lines 8, 10-12; das
quam alles von der czoyberye, das die jungfrowe dy knaben alle beczobert
hatte met schryft und met bryven, dy sy en under dy höbt leyte under dy
kussen, und met den veddern von den wylden ruchen lüten, lines 1-5. Only
_one_ letter and one feather is employed in each case.
[371] Svefnþorn, Danish søvntorn, or søvnpreen: blundstafir,
sleep-staves, rods (if not letters, runes) in Sigrdrífumál, 2.
[372] The first stanza of the German ballad occurs in a music-book of
1622: Hoffmann u. Richter, p. 202, who add that the ballad is extant in
Dutch and Flemish.
44
THE TWA MAGICIANS
Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 24;
Motherwell's MS., p. 570.
A base-born cousin of a pretty ballad known over all Southern Europe,
and elsewhere, and in especially graceful forms in France.
The French ballad generally begins with a young man's announcing that he
has won a mistress, and intends to pay her a visit on Sunday, or to give
her an _aubade_. She declines his visit, or his music. To avoid him she
will turn, e. g., into a rose; then he will turn bee, and kiss her. She
will turn quail; he sportsman, and bag her. She will turn carp; he
angler, and catch her. She will turn hare; and he hound. She will turn
nun; he priest, and confess her day and night. She will fall sick; he
will watch with her, or be her doctor. She will become a star; he a
cloud, and muffle her. She will die; he will turn earth, into which they
will put her, or St Peter, and receive her into Paradise. In the end she
says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another; or
more complaisantly, Je me donnerai à toi, puisque tu m'aimes tant.