Cuckoo, cuckoo: O, word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
'When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks, 912
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he, 916
Cuckoo;
Cuckoo, cuckoo: O, word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!'
Winter.
'When icicles hang by the wall, 920
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail,
When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul, 924
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-who;
Tu-whit, tu-who—a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. 928
'When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian's nose looks red and raw, 932
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-who;
Tu-whit, tu-who—a merry note, 936
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.'
913 turtles: turtle-doves
928 keel: cool by stirring
930 saw: maxim or wise talk
933 crabs: wild, sour apples
bowl: i.e. wassail-bowl
