As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;[#]
The tane unto the t'other say,
"Where sall we gang and dine to-day?"--
[#] moan.
"In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new-slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair.
His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk, to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His lady's ta'en another mate,
Sa we may mak our dinner sweet.
Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane,[#]
And I'll pick out his bonny blue een:
Wi' ae lock o' his gowden hair,
We'll theek[#] our nest when it grows bare.[#]
[#] neck.
[#] thatch.
[#] Variant reading--"We'll theek our nest--it's a' blawn hare."
Mony a one for him makes mane,
But nane sall ken where he is gane;
O'er his white banes, when they are bare,
The wind sall blaw for evermair."
[Illustration: The Twa Corbies]