But hear what did the wife of the Dwarf:
The book of power forth she brought,
Therewith she broke the Runic thrall,
Wherein the hero had been caught.
“Now have I freed thee from the Runes,
They never more can thee oppress:
This have I done for honor’s sake,
My daughter thee shall not possess.
“Much more, Sir Knight, for thee I’ll do,
For sheer goodwill and affection pure;
I will for thee a bonnier bride
Than any elfin maid procure.
“I was not born in this wild hill,
Of Christian folk I am the child;
An only sister I possess,
And she Dame Ermeline is stil’d.
“She bears the crown in merry England,
The crown and queenly dignity;
Her daughter dear has stolen been,
For thus the tale was told to me.
“Her daughter dear has stolen been,
She lieth now in strict durance;
To blessed Kirk she may not go,
And far, far less to merry dance.
“She ne’er may out of the window look
Except to watch her women stand;
Nor play at tables with the King
Unless the Queen is close at hand.
“Except the King, so aged and grey,
No earthly man she e’er has seen;
Each night her chamber door is locked,
And she who locks it is the Queen.
“The Damsel’s named proud Ermeline,
She sits in Upsal sorrowing sore;
Whilst bolts of steel and iron bars
Make fast the Damsel’s chamber door.
“The King he has a sister’s son,
And Allevod is the name he bears;
And he’s to wed the lovely maid
As soon as he the Kingdom heirs.