Says--“Why pu’ ye the rose, Janet? What gars ye break the tree? Or why come ye to Carterhaugh, Withouten leave o’ me?”--
Says--“Carterhaugh it is mine ain; My daddie gave it me: I’ll come and gang to Carterhaugh, And ask nae leave o’ thee.
“The truth ye’ll tell to me, Tamlane: A word ye mauna lie; Gin e’er ye was in haly chapel, Or sained in Christentie?”--
“The truth I’ll tell to thee, Janet, A word I winna lee: My father’s a knight, a lady me bore, As well as they did thee.
“Randolph, earl Murray, was my sire, Dunbar, earl March, is thine; We loved when we were children small, Which yet you well may mind.
“When I was a boy just turn’d of nine, My uncle sent for me, To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him, And keep him cumpanie.
“There came a wind out of the north, A sharp wind and a snell; And a dead sleep came over me, And frae my horse I fell.
“The Queen of Fairies keppit me In yon green hill to dwell; And I’m a fairy, lyth and limb; Fair ladye, view me well.
“But we, that live in Fairy-land, No sickness know nor pain, I quit my body when I will, And take to it again.
“I quit my body when I please, Or unto it repair; We can inhabit at our ease, In either earth or air.
“Our shapes and size we can convert To either large or small; An old nut-shell’s the same to us As is the lofty hall.
“We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet, We revel in the stream; We wanton lightly on the wind, Or glide on a sunbeam.
“And all our wants are well supplied From every rich man’s store, Who thankless sins the gifts he gets, And vainly grasps for more.
“Then I would never tire, Janet, In Elfish land to dwell; But aye, at every seven years, They pay the teind to hell; And I am sae fat and fair of flesh, I fear’t will be mysell.
“This night is Hallowe’en, Janet, The morn is Hallowday; And, gin ye dare your true love win, Ye na hae time to stay.
“The night it is good Hallowe’en, When fairy folk will ride; And they that wad their true love win At Miles Cross they maun bide.”--
“But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane? Or how shall I thee knaw, Amang so many unearthly knights, The like I never saw?”--
“The first company that passes by, Say na, and let them gae; The next company that passes by, Say na, and do right sae; The third company that passes by, Then I’ll be ane o’ thae.