evyn out of kechoun cam
wyth boris hed on honde,
He saw a sterre was fayr and brycht
over Bedlem stonde.

3.
He kyst adoun the bores hed,
and went in to the halle;
'I forsak the, kyng Herowdes,
and thi werkes alle.

4.
'I forsak the, kyng Herowdes,
and thi werkes alle,
Ther is a chyld in Bedlem born
is beter than we alle.'

5.
'Quat eylyt the, Stevene?
quat is the befalle?
Lakkyt the eyther mete or drynk
in kyng Herodwes halle?'

6.
'Lakit me neyther mete ne drynk
in king Herowdes halle;
There is a chyld in Bedlem born,
is beter than we alle.'

7.
'Quat eylyt the, Stevyn? art thou wod?
or thou gynnyst to brede?
Lakkyt the eyther gold or fe,
or ony ryche wede?'

8.
'Lakyt me neyther gold ne fe,
ne non ryche wede;
Ther is a chyld in Bedlem born,
schal helpyn us at our nede.'

9.
'That is al so soth, Stevyn,
al so soth i-wys,
As this capoun crowe schal
that lyth here in myn dysh.'

10.
That word was not so sone seyd,
that word in that halle,
The capoun crew _Cristus natus est!_
among the lordes alle.

11.
'Rysyt up, myn turmentowres,
be to and al be on,
And ledit Stevyn out of this town
and stonit him with ston.'

12.
Tokyn he Stevene,
and stonyd hym in the way;
And therfore is his evyn
on Crystes owyn day.

[Annotations:
5.1: What aileth thee?
5.3, etc.: 'Lakkyt the,' Dost thou lack.
7.1: 'wod,' mad.
7.2: 'brede,' rouse, _i.e._ become angry (?).
11.1, etc.: 'Rysyt,' 'ledit,' 'stonit': these are all imperatives.
11.2: 'be to,' etc., by twos and all one by one (?). Cp. _Fair
Margaret and Sweet William_, 10.2 (First Series, p. 65).]

THE CHERRY-TREE CAROL

+The Text.+--As this carol consists of two parts, the first containing
the actual story of the cherry-tree, and the second consisting of the
angel's song to Joseph, I have taken the first part (stt. 1-12
inclusive) from the version of Sandys (_Christmas Carols_), and the
second (stt. 13-17) from W. H. Husk's _Songs of the Nativity_.

+The Story+ of the cherry-tree is derived from the Pseudo-Matthew's
gospel, and is also to be found in the fifteenth of the Coventry
Mysteries. In other languages the fruit chosen is naturally adapted to
the country: thus in Provencal it is an apple; elsewhere (as in the
original), dates from the palm-t