Page:Barnes (1879) Poems of rural life in the Dorset dialect (combined).djvu/101

Rh Or in the settle so high behine en, &emsp;While down bezide en the dog do snooze, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Our tongues do run, O, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Enough to stun, O, &emsp;Your head wi’ glee by the welshnut tree.

There we do play ‘thread the woman’s needle.’ &emsp;An’ slap the maïdens a-dartèn drough: Or try who’ll ax em the hardest riddle, &emsp;Or soonest tell woone a-put us, true; &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Or zit an’ ring, O, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;The bells, ding, ding, O, &emsp;Upon our knee by the welshnut tree.

An’ zome do goo out, an’ hide in orcha’t, &emsp;An’ tothers, slily a-stealèn by, Where there’s a dark cunnèn pleäce, do sarch it, &emsp;Till they do zee em an’ cry, “I spy,” &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;An’ thik a-vound, O, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;Do gi’e a bound, O, &emsp;To get off free to the welshnut tree.

Poll went woone night, that we midden vind her, &emsp;Inzide a woak wi’ a hollow moot, An’ drough a hole near the groun’ behind her, &emsp;I pok’d a stick in, an’ catch’d her voot; &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;An’ out she scream’d, O, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;An’ jump’d, an’ seem’d, O, &emsp;A-móst to vlee to the welshnut tree.

An’ when, at last, at the drashel, mother &emsp;Do call us, smilèn, in-door to rest, Then we do cluster by woone another, &emsp;To zee hwome them we do love the best: &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;An’ then do sound, O, &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;“Good night,” all round, O, &emsp;To end our glee by the welshnut tree.