MARY.
Well met, sister mine! God give thee grace, and of
his infinite mercy forgive thee thy sins!
GYPSY.
Ye are tired and drooping, poor pilgrims, as I think,
seeking a night's lodging. Lady, wilt thou choose to alight?
MARY.
O sister mine! full of courtesy, God of his infinite goodness reward thee for thy charity. We are come from Nazareth, and we are without a place to lay our heads, arrived in a strange land, all tired and weary with the way!
The Zingarella then offers them a resting-place, and straw and fodder for the ass, which being accepted, she asks leave to tell their fortune, but begins by recounting, in about thirty stanzas, all the past history of the Virgin pilgrim; she then asks to see the Child—
Ora tu, Signora mia.
Che sei piena di cortesia,
Mostramelo per favore
Lo tuo Figlio Redentore!
And now, O Lady mine, that art full of courtesy, grant
me to look upon thy Son, the Redeemer!
The Virgin takes him from the arms of Joseph—
Datemi, o caro sposo,
Lo mio Figlio grazioso!
Quando il vide sta meschina
Zingarella, che indovina!
Give me, dear husband, my lovely boy, that this poor
gypsy, who is a prophetess, may look upon him.