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BLACK RODERICK
25
‘Come hither now, you sly-faced witch;
Come hither now to me.
Say if a lady all so pale
Your evil eyes did see?’
‘Oh, true, I saw a little lass,
She went all white as snow;
She crossed my hands with silver crown
Just two short hours ago.’
‘What did you tell the foolish wench,
Who must my lady be?
The false tale you did tell to her
You now must tell to me.’
‘I hate you, Black Earl Roderick,
You're cruel, hard, and cold;
Yet you shall grieve like a young child
Before the moon is cold.
‘This did I tell her: like a queen
She'd ride into the town;
And every man who met her there
Would on his knees go down.
