Then the hangman said, "Now, lass, say thy prayers for thou must die." But she said:
"Stop, stop, I think I see my father coming!
O father, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?"
"I've neither brought thy golden ball
Nor come to set thee free,
But I have come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree."
Then the hangman said, "Hast thee done thy prayers? Now, lass, put thy head into the noose."
But she answered, "Stop, stop, I think I see my brother coming!" And again she sang, and then she thought she saw her sister coming, then her uncle, then her aunt, then her cousin; but after this the hangman said, "I will stop no longer, thou'rt making game of me. Thou must be hung at once."
But now she saw her sweetheart coming through the crowd, and he held over his head in the air her own golden ball; so she said:
"Stop, stop, I see my sweetheart coming!
Sweetheart, hast brought my golden ball
And come to set me free?"
"Aye, I have brought thy golden ball
And come to set thee free,
I have not come to see thee hung
Upon this gallows-tree."
And he took her home, and they lived happy ever after.
