The False Knight and the Wee Boy

"O where are ye gaun to, my wee lad?"
Quo' the False Knight on the road
"I'm gaun to the schule." said the bonnie, bonnie boy
And still, still he stood.

"And what is't ye have upon your back?"
"Atweel, it's my books," said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"And what is that ye've in your arm?"
"Atweel, it's my peat." said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"Wha owns the sheep upon the hill?"
"They're mine and my mither's." said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"How many of them are mine, my lad?"
"A' those wi' blue tails." said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"I wish that ye were on yonder tree,"
"Wi' a ladder under me," said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"And the ladder to break below ye,"
"And youto fa' down." said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"I wish ye were now in yonder sea,"
"Wi' a guid ship under me." said the bonnie, bonnie boy

"And the ship for to break and sink wi' ye,"
"And ye to be drowned!" said the bonnie, bonnie boy

Child #3
From Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads, Bronson (1, 1a)
Printed in Motherwell (1827);this text from Moffat (1933)
RG