Karin the fair, Karin the gay,
She came on the morn of her bridal day,—
She came to the mill-pond clear and bright,
And viewed hersel' in the morning light.
"And oh," she cried, "that my bonny brow
May ever be white and smooth as now!
"And oh, my hair, that I love to braid,
Be yellow in sunshine, and brown in shade!
"And oh, my waist, sae slender and fine,
May it never need girdle longer than mine!"
She lingered and laughed o'er the waters clear,
When sudden she starts, and shrieks in fear:—
"Oh, what is this face, sae laidly old,
That looks at my side in the waters cold?"
She turns around to view the bank,
And the osier willows dark and dank;—
And from the fern she sees arise
An aged crone wi' awsome eyes,
"Ha! ha!" she laughed, "ye're a bonny bride!
See how ye'll fare gin the New Year tide!