XIX.
JOSEPH was an old man, and an old man was he,
When he wedded Mary, in the land of Galilee;
When Joseph and Mary walked in the garden good,
There was cherries and berries as red as the blood.
O then bespoke Mary, so meek and so mild,
Pluck me some cherries, Joseph, for I am with child;
O then bespoke Joseph, with words so unkind,
Let him pluck the cherries that brought thee with child.
O then bespoke Jesus in his mother’s womb,
Bow down then the tallest tree, that my mother may have some;
Then bowed down the tallest tree, it bent to Mary’s hand,
Then she cried, See, Joseph, I have cherries at command.
O then bespoke Joseph, I have done Mary wrong,
But cheer up, my dearest, and be not cast down;
Then Joseph and Mary did to Bethlehem go,
And with travels were weary walking to and fro.
They sought for a lodging, but the inns were fill’d all,
They, alas! could not have it, but in an ox’s stall;
But before the next morning our Saviour was born,
In the month of December, Christmas Day in the morn.
