rom his blow, and he sat down,
surly enough but silent. Then said the goodwife: "What is to do here?
Hast thou run against the settle-end, John, that thy cheek is red and
blue?"

Laughed the youngling thereat, and a word came into his mouth, and he
sang:

All grey on the bent
There the sheep-greedy went:
The big spear and shield
Met the foes of the field,
But nought the white teeth
In the warriors gat sheath,
For master and man
Full meetly they ran.
But now in this hall
The fear off doth fall
From one of the twain,
And his hand getteth gain,
But the other sits there,
And new groweth his fear
Both of man and of grey.
So the meat on board lay,
Thou on whom gold doth ride,
Meat-goddess grey-eyed,
Let the loaf-warden eat,
And the man whom he beat,
And the lad that doth lie
In wall-nook hereby,
And thou Gold-tree the fair,
And the milk-mother dear,
Lest the meat wax a-cold
Both for bold and unbold.

Hereat all laughed, but the two men somewhat from one side of their
mouths. And the goodman said: "See thou to it, kinsman, lest stripes
be thy song-pay." But Osberne laughed from a fair and merry face and
sang again:

O lord of the land,
To the staff lay no hand
Till the grey ones thou face
In the wind-weary place.

And therewith he fell to his meat and ate stoutly, and to the women it
seemed that their little kinsman had the makings of a champion in him,
and his staves they loved dearly in their hearts, and they smiled upon
him kindly; and he looked from one to the other and quoth he:

Three mothers had I,
And one is gone by,
But two are left here,
Leal, buxom, and dear.

As for the goodman, now that the meat was getting into him, the wrath
was running off, and he thought within himself that presently he
should have good avail of his grandson.

Chapter IV. Surly John Falls Out with the Goodman

On the morrow comes John to the goodman, and quoth he: "Master, there
is small doubt that I shall one day pay thee for the pudding in the
pot which thou gavest me yestereen, and after that I shall have to
take my soles out of this straightway; so meseemeth I had best go
hence today."

"Well," said the goodman, "if thou must go, go, and the devil go with
thee. But as to the knock on thy cheekbone, I will boot thee therefor,
if thou wilt take boot and abide, for though t