The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink;
I heard a voice; it said, "Drink, pretty Creature,
drink!"
And, looking o'er the hedge, before me I espied
A snow-white mountain Lamb with a Maiden at its side.
Nor other sheep were near, the Lamb was all alone,
And by a slender cord was tethered to a stone;
With one knee on the grass did the little Maiden kneel,
While to that Mountain Lamb she gave its evening meal.
The Lamb while from her hand he thus his supper took
Seemed to feast with head and ears, and his tail with
pleasure shook.
"Drink, pretty Creature, drink," she said in
such a tone
That I almost received her heart into my own.
'Twas little Barbara Lewthwaite, a Child of beauty
rare!
I watched them with delight, they were a lovely pair.
Now with her empty Can the Maiden turned away,
But ere ten yards were gone her footsteps did she stay.
Towards the Lamb she looked, and from that shady place
I unobserved could see the workings of her face:
If Nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring
Thus, thought I, to her Lamb that little Maid might sing.
"What ails thee, Young One? What? Why pull so
at thy cord?
Is it not well with thee? Well both for bed and board?
Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be;
Rest little Young One, rest; what is't that aileth thee?
"What is it thou would'st seek? What is wanting
to thy heart?
Thy limbs are they not strong? And beautiful thou art:
This grass is tender grass, these flowers they have no
peers;
And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears.
"If the Sun is shining hot, do but stretch thy
woollen chain,
This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain,
For rain and mountain storms! the like thou need'st not
fear--
The rain and storm are things that scarcely can come here.
"Rest, little Young One, rest; thou hast forgot
the day
When my Father found thee first in places far away;
Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert owned by
none;
And thy mother from thy side for evermore was gone.
"He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought
thee home:
A blessed day for thee! then whither wouldst thou roam?
A faithful Nurse thou hast, the Dam that did thee yean
Upon the mountain tops no kinder could have been.
"Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought
thee in this Can
Fresh water from the brook as clear as ever ran;
And twice in the day when the ground is wet with dew
I bring thee draughts of milk, warm milk it is and new.
"Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they
are now,
Then I'll yoke thee to my cart like a pony in the plough,
My Playmate thou shalt be, and when the wind is cold
Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold.
"It will not, will not rest!--poor Creature can
it be
That 'tis thy mother's heart which is working so in thee?
Things that I know not of belike to thee are dear,
And dreams of things which thou canst neither see nor
hear.
"Alas the mountain tops that look so green and
fair!
I've heard of fearful winds and darkness that come there;
The little Brooks that seem all pastime and all play,
When they are angry, roar like Lions for their prey.
"Here thou need'st not dread the raven in the
sky;
Night and day thou art safe,--our cottage is hard by.
Why bleat so after me? why pull so at thy chain?
Sleep--and at break of day I will come to thee again!"
--As homeward through the lane I went with lazy feet,
This song to myself did I oftentimes repeat;
And it seemed as I retraced the ballad line by line,
That but half of it was hers, and one half of it was mine.
Again, and once again did I repeat the song;
"Nay," said I, "more than half to the Damsel
must belong,
For she looked with such a look, and she spake with such
a tone,
That I almost received her heart into my own."
Design, coding, and editing: Copyright © 1997 by James M. Garrett. All rights reserved.