11 The Wee Wee Man
I
As I was walking mine alane
Atween a water and a wa’,
There I spied a wee wee man,
And he was the least that ere I saw.
II
His legs were scant a shathmont’s109 length,
And thick and thimber110 was his thie111;
Atween his brows there was a span,
And atween his shoulders there was three.
III
He’s ta’en and flung a meikle stane,
And he flang ’t as far as I could see;
Though I had been a Wallace wight
I couldna liften ’t to my knee.
IV
‘O wee wee man, but ye be strang!
O tell me where your dwelling be?’
‘My dwelling’s down by yon bonny bower;
Fair lady, come wi’ me and see.’
V
On we lap112, and awa’ we rade,
Till we came to yon bonny green;
We lighted down to bait our steed,
And out there came a lady sheen113;
VI
Wi’ four and twenty at her back
A’ comely clad in glisterin’ green;
Tho’ the King of Scotland had been there,
The warst o’ them might ha’ been his queen.
VII
On we lap, and awa’ we rade,
Till we came to a bonny ha’;
The roof was o’ the beaten gowd,
And the floor was o’ the cristal a’.
VIII
When we came to the stair-foot,
Ladies were dancing jimp114 and sma’,
But in the twinkling of an eie
My wee wee man was clean awa’.
IX
Out gat the lights, on came the mist,
Ladies nor mannie mair cou’d I see:
I turn’d about, and gae a look
Just at the foot o’ Benachie.
Footnotes
109 shathmont = measure from the point of the extended thumb to the extremity of the palm, six inches.
110 thimber = stout.
111 thie = thigh.
112 lap = leapt.
113 sheen = shining, beautiful.
114 jimp = slim, slender.