Page:The Ballads of Marko Kraljević.djvu/189

 "Dear brother, thou stranger knight, Wherefore dost thou ask of the Moor's manor? Wherefore askest thou? May it be utterly laid waste! Haply thou hast found a maiden, And goest now thither bearing the tax-money. Haply thou art the only son of thy mother, And wit thou well, brother, thou goest yonder to thy death, And how then will thy mother nourish her?" Marko put his hand in his pocket, He took out thirty gold ducats And gave them to the damsel of Kossovo: "Behold, sister, thirty ducats for thee. And now get thee to thy white manor, There continue until good fortune greet thee . Tell me only where the Moor's manor lieth, I would fain pay thy marriage-tax. And wherefore should the Moor slay me, Since that I have gold and to spare? I could pay for all Kossovo plain! Is it then hard for me to pay thy tax?" Quoth the damsel: "No manor hath the Moor but niggard tents. Look down over Kossovo, Where yonder silken banner waves. There is the tent of the black Moor. Round about it is a green pleasance, And all the pleasance is garnished with heads! Lo, not a week of days agone The accursed Moor did slay Seventy and seven heroes. Unhappy bridegrooms of Kossovo! Forty servants hath the Moor, That stand round him to watch over him." And when Marko heard these words, He urged Sharatz and went down to Kossovo. He spurred good Sharatz to fury,