A soldier hurrying to his King
Had his horse fall lame
And seeking help he was told
The charmer might give him aid
So he went into a dell of ferns
Where lay the charmer’s house
Knocked, and there he waited
Until an aged woman came out
He touched his badge in salute
And offered generous pay
But she said she could do nothing
And began to turn away
“You cannot, or will not?”
The soldier did then demand
“My King can surely pay your price”
Yet the woman shook her head
Now the soldier, impatient-fearful
Could scarce believe such stubbornness
He asked again, twice, thrice
Until the charmer need admit
“Sir I will not help you,
You can walk beside your beast
Years ago your king did scorn me
And now I ask you to take your leave”
The charmer shut and barred her door
So at last the soldier went away
Knowing his errand was now tardy
And wracked with worry over his fate
When he arrived his King commanded
The set punishment for delay
But the soldier begged for pardon
Saying the charmer made him late
“This old woman spoke against you
Sire, and I do believe the evenlight
Would show her soul base and leaden
A clutch of thorns proof of her spite”
Now the King’s expression altered
Arising from his throne
“If so, you cannot be faulted
“Let us go to this charmer’s home”
In a great company they set out
And soon came to the dell
They ringed the house and knocked
Until the charmer showed herself
Then the King called for the evenlight
And his servants brought it forth
Throwing it upon the charmer
As the King spoke fivefold words
So the light burst and subsided
And to them all revealed
The charmer dead in silver
Thornless flowers for her bier
–
The soldier never spoke of this
All the rest of his days
Whilst the King’s reign soon ended
And charmer’s house decayed
