Part IV

His absence and her serpent-shape,
The King had long deplored;
He now rejoiced to see them both
Again to him restored.

The Queen they wanted, whom they found
All pale and sore afraid,
Because she knew her power must yield
To Childy Wynd’s, who said:—

“Woe be to thee, thou wicked Witch,
An ill death mayest thou dee;
As thou my sister hast likened,
So likened shalt thou be.

“I will turn you into a Toad,
That on the ground doth wend;
And won, won, shalt thou never be,
Till this world hath an end.”

Now on the sand near Ida’s tower,
She crawls a loathsome Toad,
And venom spits on every maid
She meets upon her road.

The virgins all of Bambrough town,
Will swear that they have seen
This spiteful Toad, of monstrous size,
Whilst walking they have been.

All folks believe within the shire,
This story to be true;
And they all run to Spindleston,
The cave and trough to view.

This fact now Duncan Frasier,
Of Cheviot, sings in rhyme,
Lest Bambroughshire men should forget
Some part of it in time.