A STORY OF THE OLDEN TIME
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Mabie, Hamilton Wright, Forbush, William Byron, and Hale, Edward Everett
PART I
"Arise, my maiden, Mabel,"
The mother said; "arise,
For the golden sun of midsummer
Is shining in the skies.
"Arise, my little maiden,
For thou must speed away,
To wait upon thy grandmother
This livelong summer day.
"And thou must carry with thee
This wheaten cake so fine,
This new-made pat of butter,
This little flask of wine;
"And tell the dear old body,
This day I cannot come,
For the goodman went out yestermorn.
And he is not come home.
"And more than this, poor Amy
Upon my knee doth lie;
I fear me, with this fever pain
The little child will die!
"And thou canst help thy grandmother:
The table thou canst spread;
Canst feed the little dog and bird;
And thou canst make her bed.
"And thou canst fetch the water
From the lady-well hard by;
And thou canst gather from the wood
The fagots brown and dry;
"Canst go down to the lonesome glen,
To milk the mother ewe;
This is the work, my Mabel,
That thou wilt have to do.
"But listen now, my Mabel,
This is midsummer day,
When all the fairy people
From elfland come away.
"And when thou 'rt in the lonesome glen,
Keep by the running burn,
And do not pluck the strawberry flower,