7 And when she came before the king,
She kneeled low by his knee;
'What's this? what's this, fair maid,' he says,
'What's this you ask of me?'
8 . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
'There is a knight into your court
This day has robbed me.'
9 'If he robbed you of your gold,' he said,
'It's hanged he must be;
If he's robbed you of your maidenhead,
His body I grant to thee.'
10 'He's not robbed me of my gold,' she said,
'Nor of my white money,
But he's robbed me of my maidenhead,
The flower of my bodie.'
11 He's called down his merry men all,
By one, by two, by three;
John used to be the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.
12 He took a long purse of gold
And wrapped it in a glove:
'Here's to thee, my dearest dear,
Go seek some other love.'
13 'I'll have none of your gold,' she says,
'Nor any of your white money,
But I'll just have your own bodie
The king has granted to me.'
14 'I wish I was drinking the well-water
When I drank of the ale,
Before a shepherd's daughter
Would tell me such a tale.'
15 He got her on a milk-white steed,
Himself upon a grey,
Then on a day ...
This couple rode away.
16 It's when they were coming by the nettle-bush,
She said, So well may you grow!
For many a day my mammy and me
Hae pickled at your pow.