THE FAUSE KNIGHT UPON THE ROAD
The Text is taken from the Introduction to Motherwell’s Minstrelsy, p. lxxiv.
The Story appears to be a conversation between a wee boy and the devil, the latter under the guise of a knight. The boy will be carried off unless he can ‘have the last word,’ a charm of great power against all evil spirits.
A very similar ballad, of repartees between an old crone and a wee boy, was found at the Lappfiord, Finland.