What't is that makes me cross?
"O, mother dear, do you not know,
What't is that gives me pain,
You lie at ease, but I do not;
I must get up again."
There is also a flavor of mockery in the naïve dialogue between the shepherd, Joseph, and his mistress, whom he has come to waken in the morning, and to invite to spend the day with him on the mountain. The shepherdess wants to be assured of something more substantial than mere affection before she yields to the temptation.
JOSEPH.
Joseph, your faithful shepherd,