The Cruel Mother
No: 20; variant: 20K
- LADY MARGARET looked oer the castle wa,
Hey and a lo and a lilly O
And she saw twa bonnie babes playing at the ba.
Down by the green wood sidy O
- 'O pretty babes, an ye were mine,
I would dress you in the silks so fine.'
- 'O false mother, when we were thine,
Ye did not dress us in silks so fine.'
- 'O bonnie babes, an ye were mine,
I would feed you on the bread and wine.'
- 'O false mother, when we were thine,
Ye did not feed us on the bread and the wine.'
- 'Seven years a fish in the sea,
And seven years a bird in the tree.
- 'Seven years to ring a bell,
And seven years porter in hell.'