“To-day thou shall sit within and mourn,
To-morrow at dawn on faggots burn.”
There she sits and her hands she wrings,
Till she heard the clang of the Raven’s wings.
“O Raven, Raven, stay thy wing,
Can’st thou the tune of the watchman sing?”
“O well can I, and well I ought,
So little was I when the tune I caught.”
“Wilt fly for me, Raven, to Tonne town,
For there my friends and kindred wone?
“I’ll give thee, Raven, a red gold band,
To carry my message to Hildebrand.
“A red gold band I’ll give to thee,
To tell him the tale of my misery.”
“Thy gold will do me little good,
Dearer to me my raven food.”
“O Raven, if thou wilt fly for me,
My husband’s eyes shall be thy fee.”
Abroad his black wings the Raven threw,
And over three kingly realms he flew.