When wind wer keen,
Where ivy-green
Did clwosely wind
Roun' woak-tree rind,
An' ice shone bright,
An' meäds wer white, wi' thin-spread snow
Then on the pond, a-spreadèn wide,
We bwoys did zweep along the slide,
A-strikèn on in merry row.
There ruddÿ-feäced,
In busy heäste,
We all did wag
A spankèn lag,
To win good speed,
When we, straïght-knee'd, wi' foreright tooes,
Should shoot along the slipp'ry track,
Wi' grindèn sound, a-gettèn slack,
The slower went our clumpèn shoes.
Vor zome slow chap,
Did teäke mishap,
As he did veel
His hinder heel
A-het a thump,
Wi' zome big lump, o' voot an' shoe.
Down vell the voremost wi' a squall,
An' down the next went wi' a sprawl,
An' down went all the laughèn crew.
As to an' fro,
In merry row,
We all went round
On ice, on ground
The maïdens nigh
A-stannèn shy, did zee us slide,
An' in their eäprons small, did vwold
Their little hands, a-got red-cwold,
Or slide on ice o' two veet wide.
By leafless copse,
An' beäre tree-tops,
An' zun's low beams,
An' ice-boun' streams,
An' vrost-boun' mill,
A-stannèn still. Come wind, blow on,
An' gi'e the bwoys, this Chris'mas tide,
The glitt'rèn ice to meäke a slide,
As we had our slide, years agone.