LYRICS OF RIDDLES WISELY EXPOUNDED BALLAD

There was a lady of the North Country,Lay the bent to the bonny broomAnd she had lovely daughters three.And you may beguile a fair maid soon.

There came a stranger to the gate,And he three nights and days did wait.

He came unto the lady's door,And asked where her three daughters here.

"The eldest is to the washing gone,The second's to the baking gone.

"The youngest is to a wedding gone,And it will be night before they're home."

He sat him down upon a stone,Till the three lasses came tripping home.

The oldest one's to the bed making,The second one's to the sheet spreading.

But the youngest sister so bold and bright,She lay abed with this uncouth knight.

And in the morning when it was grey,These words to her did the stranger say.

Now answer me these questions three,Or you shall surely go with me.

Now answer me these questions six,

Or you shall surely be old Nick's.What is sharper than the thorn?What is louder than the horn?

What broader than the way?What is colder than the clay?

What is greener than the grass?And what is worse than a woman was?

Hunger is sharper then the thorn,And thunder is louder than the horn.

Love is broader than the way,And death is colder than the clay.

Envy's greener than the grass,And the Devil's worse than a woman was.

As soon as she the fiend did name,He flew away in a blazing flame.