In #D#, #E#, the harper steals the horse on a wager, which, however, is passed over lightly in #D#. The wager in #E# is with two knights of Stirling, five ploughs of land with one and five thousand pounds with the other, and “John” has to go all the way to London to win it. The knights pay their loss and then restore the Wanton Brown to Henry!—so great an improvement upon the dealings of the Scots with English horseflesh as to compel one to assign this particular version of the story to the nineteenth, if not the twentieth, century.[9] The twelve armed men in armor bright that guard the stable night and day in #E# 23 remind us of popular tales; as of the Grimms’ ‘Master Thief.’ #A b# is loosely translated by Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 16, p. 58. * * * * * A #a.# Glenriddell MS. XI, 42, 1791; “from a MS. collection of Mr Henderson.” #b.# Johnson’s Museum, No 579, VI, 598, 1803, communicated by Burns, #c.# Scott’s Minstrelsy, 1802, I, 65. 1 Heard ye eer of the silly blind harper, That long livd in Lochmaben town, How he wad gang to fair England, To steal King Henry’s Wanton Brown? Sing, Faden dilly and faden dilly Sing, Faden dilly and deedle dan 2 But first he gaed to his gude wife, Wi a’ the speed that he coud thole; ‘This wark,’ quo he, ‘will never work Without a mare that has a foal.’ 3 Quo she, Thou has a gude gray mare, That’al rin oer hills baith law and hie; Gae tak the gray mare in thy hand, And leave the foal at hame wi me. 4 ‘And tak a halter in thy hose, And o thy purpose dinna fail; But wap it oer the Wanton’s nose, And tie her to the gray mare’s tail. 5 ‘Syne ca her out at yon back geate, Oer moss and muir and ilka dale; For she’ll neer let the Wanton bite Till she come hame to her ain foal.’ 6 So he is up to England gane, Even as fast as he can hie, Till he came to King Henry’s geate; And wha was there but King Henry? 7 ‘Come in,’ quo he, ‘thou silly blind harper, And of thy harping let me hear;’ ‘O, by my sooth,’ quo the silly blind harper, ‘I’d rather hae stabling for my mare.’ 8 The king he looks oer his left shoulder, And says unto his stable-groom, Gae tak the silly poor harper’s mare, And tie her side my Wanton Brown. 9 And ay he harpit, and ay he carpit, Till a’ the lords had fitted the floor; They thought the music was sae sweet, And they forgot the stable-door. 10 And ay he harpit, and ay he carpit, Till a’ the nobles were sound asleep; Than quietly he took aff his shoon, And safly down the stair did creep. 11 Syne to the stable-door he hies, Wi tread as light as light coud be, And when he opned and gaed in, There he fand thirty gude steads and three.