He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake,
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely dark and deep;
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep:
And miles to go before I sleep.
[255].
There may be a few small verbal puzzles in this fifteenth-century carol—otherwise as clear, sharp and shining as a winter moon.