The maid, seeing that he had no clothes, pitied him, and the next night she laid out a little suit that she had cut and sewed during the day. Robin, coming in, spied the clothes, whereat he started, and said:—
“’Tis not your garments new or old
That Robin loves. I feel no cold.
Had you left me milk or cream,
You should have had a pleasant dream,
Became you left no drop or crumb,
Robin never more will come.”
And with that he ran out of the door, laughing loudly, “Ho! Ho! Ho!”
And many other mad pranks did Robin Goodfellow play. At times he turned himself into a will-o’-the-wisp, misleading lovers who came over the heath; at other times he punished knaves and idle maids, or rewarded good and worthy people. And always he ran laughing, “Ho! Ho! Ho!”