Page:Mistral - Mirèio. A Provençal poem.djvu/95

 CANTO IV.

THE SUITORS.

HEN violets are blue in the blue shadows Of the o'erhanging trees, The youth who stray in pairs about the meadows
 * Are glad to gather these.

When peace descends upon the troubled Ocean,
 * And he his wrath forgets,

Flock from Martigue the boats with wing-like motion,
 * The fishes fill their nets.

And when the girls of Crau bloom into beauty
 * (And fairer earth knows not),

Aye are there suitors ready for their duty
 * In castle and in cot.

Thus to Mirèio's home came seeking her A trio notable,—a horse-tamer, A herdsman, and a shepherd. It befell The last was first who came his tale to tell. Alari was his name, a wealthy man,— He had a thousand sheep, the story ran.