"
When the tanner he was in the king's sad-elle,
And his foot in the stirrup was;
He marvelled greatly in his mind,
Whether it were gold or brass.
But when his steed saw the cow's tail wag,
And eke the black cow-horn;
He stamped, and stared, and away he ran,
As the devil had him borne.
The tanner he pulled, the tanner he sweat,
And held by the pummel fast:
At length the tanner came tumbling down;
His neck he had well-nigh brast.
"Take thy horse again with a vengeance!" he said,
"With me he shall not bide!"--
"My horse would have borne thee well enough,
But he knew not of thy cow-hide.
"Yet if again thou fain wouldst change,
As change full well may we,
By the faith of my body, thou jolly tann-er,
I will have some boot of thee."--
"What boot wilt thou have?" the tanner replied,
"Now tell me in this stound."--
"No pence nor halfpence, sir, by my fay,
But I will have twenty pound."--
"Here's twenty groats out of my purse;
And twenty I have of thine:
And I have one more, which we will spend
Together at the wine."
The king set a bugle horn to his mouth,
And blew both loud and shrill:
And soon came lords, and soon came knights,
Fast riding over the hill.
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