The Ferlie
A Ferlie came ben to me yestreen,
A lady jimp an’ sma’,
Wi’ a milk-white snood an’ a kirtle green,
Yellow an’ roun were her bonny e’en,
And she said, “Will ye come awa’?
“Will ye gang wi’ me to the Elflyn Knowe,
To milk our queene’s coo?”
“Na, na,” quo’ I, “I maun shear my sheep,
I’ve my barn to bigg, an’ my corn to reap,
Sae I canna come the noo.”
The ferlie skirled as she turned to gae,
For an angry elf was she,
“O a wilfu’ man maun hae his way,
An I mak’ sma’ doot but ye’ll rue the day
That ye wouldna gang wi’ me.”
“O, ance again will ye speir at me
An’ I’ll aiblins come awa’?”
“O I’ll come again to your yetts,” quo’ she,
“When broom blooms bright on yon rowan-tree
An’ the laverock sings i’ th’ snaw!”
Graham R. Tomson.