Howard Pyle: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

21. King Richard Comes to Sherwood Forest (continued)

 " `Oh, where has thou been, my daughter?
      Oh, where hast thou been this day
           Daughter, my daughter?'
  `Oh, I have been to the river's side,
  Where the waters lie all gray and wide,
  And the gray sky broods o'er the leaden tide,
      And the shrill wind sighs a straining.'

 " `What sawest thou there, my daughter?
      What sawest thou there this day,
           Daughter, my daughter?'
  `Oh, I saw a boat come drifting nigh,
  Where the quivering rushes hiss and sigh,
  And the water soughs as it gurgles by,
      And the shrill wind sighs a straining.'

 " `What sailed in the boat, my daughter?
      What sailed in the boat this day,
           Daughter, my daughter?'
  `Oh, there was one all clad in white,
  And about his face hung a pallid light,
  And his eyes gleamed sharp like the stars at night,
      And the shrill wind sighed a straining.'

 " `And what said he, my daughter?
      What said he to thee this day,
           Daughter, my daughter?'
  `Oh, said he nought, but did he this:
  Thrice on my lips did he press a kiss,
  And my heartstrings shrunk with an awful bliss,
      And the shrill wind sighed a straining,.'

 " `Why growest thou so cold, my daughter?
      Why growest thou so cold and white,
           Daughter, my daughter?'
  Oh, never a word the daughter said,
  But she sat all straight with a drooping head,
  For her heart was stilled and her face was dead:
      And the shrill wind sighed a straining."

All listened in silence; and when Allan a Dale had done King Richard heaved a sigh. "By the breath of my body, Allan," quoth he, "thou hast such a wondrous sweet voice that it strangely moves my heart. But what doleful ditty is this for the lips of a stout yeoman? I would rather hear thee sing a song of love and battle than a sad thing like that. Moreover, I understand it not; what meanest thou by the words?"

"I know not, Your Majesty," said Allan, shaking his head, "for ofttimes I sing that which I do not clearly understand mine own self."