18 ‘What boot wilt thou ask?’ then said our king, ‘what boot dost thou ask on this ground?’ ‘No pence nor half-pence,’ said the tanner, ‘but a noble in gold so round.’ 19 ‘Here’s twenty good groats,’ then said the king, ‘so well paid see you be;’ ‘I love thee better then I did before, I thought thou hadst nere a peny. 20 ‘But if so be we needs must change, as change thou must abide, Though thou hast gotten Brock my mare, thou shalt not have my cow-hide.’ 21 The tanner took the good cow-hide, that of the cow was hilt, And threw it upon the king’s saddle, That was so fairly guilt. 22 ‘Now help me, help me,’ quoth the tanner, ‘Full quickly that I were gone, For when I come home to Gillian my wife she’l say I’m a gentleman.’ 23 The king took the tanner by the leg, he girded a fart so round; ‘You’r very homely,’ said the king, ‘were I aware, I’d laid you o th’ ground.’ 24 But when the tanner was in the king’s saddle astonëd then he was; He knew not the stirrops that he did wear, whether they were gold or brass. 25 But when the steed saw the black cow-tale wag, for and the black cow-horn, The steed began to run away, as the divel the tanner had born. 26 Untill he came unto a nook, a little beside an ash; The steed gave the tanner such a fall his neck was almost brast. 27 ‘Take thy horse again, with a vengeance,’ he said, ‘with me he shall not abide;’ ‘It is no marvell,’ said the king, and laught, ‘he knew not your cow-hide. 28 ‘But if that we needs now must change, as change that well we mought, I’le swear to you plain, if you have your mare, I look to have some boot.’ 29 ‘What boot will you ask?’ quoth the tanner, ‘What boot will you ask on this ground?’ ‘No pence nor half-pence,’ said our king, ‘but a noble in gold so round.’ 30 ‘Here’s twenty [good] groats,’ said the tanner, ‘and twenty more I have of thine; I have ten groats more in my purse, we’l drink five of them at the wine.’ 31 The king set a bugle-horne to his mouth, that blew both loud and shrill, And five hundred lords and knights came riding over a hill. 32 ‘Away, with a vengeance,’ quoth the tanner, ‘with thee I’le no longer abide; Thou art a strong thief, yonder be thy fellows, they will steal away my cow-hide.’ 33 ‘No, I protest,’ then said our king, ‘for so it may not be; They be the lords of Drayton Basset, come out of the North Country.’ 34 But when they came before the king full low they fell on their knee; The tanner had rather then a thousand pound he had been out of his company.