So forth he fared into the night,
And, piping, went his way.
“How strange,” they said, “a lad so poor
Can have a heart so gay!”
Only the little maid that sat
Upon her father’s knee
Remembered how they two had fared
That night right pleasantly.
And as she ate her bread and milk,
So close and safe and warm,
She wondered what strange, lovely lands
He wrought of wind and storm.
For he that plays a fairy pipe
Is lord of everything!
She laughed to think that Piping Will
Should be so great a king.
“a lovely lady led them in”