—Pittulie (Rev. W. Gregor).
[And another version gives—
—— says she’ll die
For the want of the golden eye.]
—Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor).
The wind blows high, and the wind blows low,
The snow comes scattering down below.
Is not —— very very pretty?
She is the flower of one, two, three.
Please to tell me who is he.
—— says he loves her,
All the boys are fighting for her.
Let the boys say what they will,
—— loves her still.
—Perth (Rev. W. Gregor).
A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one player standing in the centre. When asked, “Please tell me who they be,” the girl in the middle gives the name or initials of a boy in the ring (or vice versa). The ring then sings the rest of the words, and the boy who was named goes into the centre. This is the [Forest of Dean] way of playing. In the [Shropshire game], at the end of the first verse the girl in the centre beckons one from the ring, or one volunteers to go into the centre; the ring continues singing, and at the end the two children kiss; the first one joins the ring, and the other chooses in his turn. The other versions are played in the same way.
Northall (English Folk-Rhymes, p. 380) gives a version from Warwickshire very similar.