Dabbling In The Dew

: NURSERY-SONGS.
: Popular Rhymes And Nursery Tales

The following pretty ballad appears to be a humorous imitation of an

Elizabethan eclogue-song. Its style guarantees its antiquity:



Oh, where are you going,

My pretty maiden fair,

With your red rosy cheeks,

And your coal-black hair?



I'm going a-milking,

Kind sir, says she;

And it's dabbling in the dew,

Where you'll find me.



May I go with you,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

Oh, you may go with me,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



If I should chance to kiss you,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

The wind may take it off again,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



If I should chance to lay you down,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

Then you must pick me up again,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



If I should chance to run away,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

The De'el may then run away wi' you,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



And what is your father,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

My father is a farmer,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



And what is your mother,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

My mother is a dairy-maid,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



And what is your sweetheart,

My pretty maiden fair, &c.

William the carpenter,

Kind sir, says she, &c.



* * * * *



There was an old couple, and they were poor,

Fa la, fa la la lee!

They lived in a house that had but one door;

Oh! what a poor couple were they.



The old man once he went far from his home,

Fa la, fa la la lee!

The old woman afraid was to stay alone,

Oh! what a weak woman was she.



The old man he came home at last,

Fa la, fa la la lee!

And found the windows and door all fast.

Oh! what is the matter? quoth he.



Oh! I have been sick since you have been gone;

Fa la, fa la la lee!

If you'd been in the garden you'd heard me groan;

Oh! I'm sorry for that, quoth he.



I have a request to make unto thee;

Fa la, fa la la lee!

To pluck me an apple from yonder tree.

Ay, that will I, marry, quoth he.



The old man tried to get up in the tree,

Fa la, fa la la lee!

But the ladder it fell, and down tumbled he.

That's cleverly done! said she.