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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com


 
 
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                     TWO MAGICIANS       
                      (Child #44)        
        recorded by Steeleye Span "Below the Salt"
                                         
   She looked out of the window, as white as any milk
   He looked in at the window, as black as any silk
                                         
   (Chorus): Hello, hello, hello, hello you coal black smith
             You have done me no harm!   
             You never shall have my maidenhead
             That I have kept so long!   
             I'd rather die a maid, aye, and then she said,
             And be buried all in my grave,
             Than to have such a nasty,  
             husky, dusky, fusty, musty coal black smith!
             A maiden I will die!        
                                         
   She became a duck, a duck all in the stream
   And he became a waterdog, and fetched her back again
                                         
   She became a star, a star all in the night
   And he became a thundercloud and muffled her out of sight
                                         
   She became a rose, a rose all in the wood
   And he became a bumblebee and kissed her where she stood
                                         
   She became a nun, a nun all dressed in white
   And he became a chantry priest to pray for her by night
                                         
   She became a trout, a trout all in the brook
   And he became a feathered fly, and catched her with his hook
                                         
   She became a quilt, a quilt all on her bed
   And he became a coverlet, and gained her maidenhead!
                                         
 note: This has MANY variants. See Robert Graves' "The White Goddess" pg. 401!
                                         
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                                                                             2307
 


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