Page 135 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

‘Nay, others will follow. Strike up, lad,’ quoth Robin.
‘In that case, ‘tis well,’ said Will Scarlet. ‘I do call to mind
a song that a certain minstrel used to sing in my father’s
hall, upon occasion. I know no name for it and so can give
you none; but thus it is.’ Then, clearing his throat, he sang:

‘In the merry blossom time,
When love longings food the breast,
When the flower is on the lime,
When the small fowl builds her nest,
Sweetly sings the nightingale
And the throstle cock so bold;
Cuckoo in the dewy dale
And the turtle in the word.
But the robin I love dear,
For he singeth through the year.
Robin! Robin!
Merry Robin!
So I’d have my true love be:
Not to fly
At the nigh
Sign of cold adversity.
‘When the spring brings sweet delights,
When aloft the lark doth rise,
Lovers woo o’ mellow nights,
And youths peep in maidens’ eyes,
That time blooms the eglantine,
Daisies pied upon the hill,
Cowslips fair and columbine,

1 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood