“Gilda, Gilda, my ragged child,
Where have you been,
In the lane, the green lane, or the heather,
My little queen?”
“Honey mother, sweet little mother,
Oh! my old grey mummy,
It's the blood of berries on my skirt
Makes me look rummy.”
“There is no juice on your coral lips,
Your amber eyes are wild,
And why do you dance like an angry jay,
My fairy child?”
“I can tell, I can tell,
Oh! my delicate mam,
I dance to the tune of a blue-bell,
Which told me what I am.”
“Gilda, Gilda, my lovely child,
Say how it spoke,
There is nothing well in a flower's spell
On one of our folk.”
“Oh! my pet, my beautiful heart,
Oh! my cunning mummy,
My cousin the sun and the wind have begun,
That's why I look rummy.”
“I have known one since I have begun,
I have known a dozen,
But never I knew a girl was true
Who called them cousin.”
“Oh! my mam, my delicate mam,
Do not scold your daughter,
I only went to the Witch's pool
And looked in the water.”
“Oh! my dove, my beautiful elf,
Was the water clear as heaven,
Did you weave a crown of flowers for yourself,
In the magic of even?”
“Oh! my mother, my honey mother,
The water was heaven-clear,
I wove a crown of marigolds....
But why do you look so queer?”
“Oh! my girl, my pitiful girl,
Good-bye to your happy hours,
The Curse of the Pool is on you....
Your ways are not ours.”