At a Well Outside of Ganton
A wishing well stood on the green,
The lass of Ganton saw it there;
An older thing she hadn’t seen,
In all her girlhood years,
In all her childhood years.
Then she found herself beside it,
Amazed, for she had never moved,
And when she sat astride its edge,
She saw within a silver moon,
A silver moon inside it.
The moon glowed with heavenly grace,
She leant further to divine it,
And then appeared a heavenly face,
Reflected smiling inside the well,
A cheerful face inside it.
“Bring me all the copper that you can,
And anything else shiny besides,”
The voice that spoke was that of a man,
And it was warm with gentleness,
A tender voice of gentleness.
The lass of Ganton jumped full of shock
And ran home to gather what she could,
Once at the well she offered her stock,
But the voice rose firm as a bell,
The voice rang firm as a bell.
“Leave me your treasure in the bucket,
And turn your back, my girl,
For I’ve a mind to take it and tuck it,
Deep within my soul, this well,
Deep within the well.”
The lass of Ganton followed his word,
Her back she turned and waited,
But as she stood she thought she heard
Leaves rustle in the ancient trees,
A rustle of ancient leaves.
The girl turned round quick with a start,
And there she saw the man of the well,
Grinning at her he looked the part
Of a jokester and an impudent thief,
An impudent thief was he.
He hung from the sturdy limbs of a tree,
Above the ancient well on the green;
With a flourish he leapt down to see
The lass of Ganton face to face,
To see that pretty lass’s face.
“I would have tricked you out of turn,
But I could not help myself,” he said;
Her face shone with a brilliant burn,
And he bowed to take her hand,
Bowing he took her hand.
“But the silver moon!” the lass protested,
“It reflected bright in the light of day!”
“By a silver plate you have been bested,”
Said he, “But I’ll make worth of the trouble,
I’ll redeem your trouble.”
“How so?” cried she, stubborn and proud,
(For no man had bested her beforehand);
“You’ve already brought your dowry ‘round,”
He said, “So I propose we marry, and quick,
So I suggest we marry.”
The lass of Ganton was astounded but won,
She sucked it up and admired her rogue,
And off she went with her thieving one,
While hand in hand they returned to Ganton,
Together they returned to Ganton.
So every child of that pair was blessed
With great beauty and nimbleness,
And that’s how you, the last girl left,
Became the best thief in all of Ganton,
The most beautiful thief in Ganton.
