Chapter 25

Father John’s War-Song
THE REAPERS¹.

So many reapers, Father John,

So many reapers and no little son,

To meet you when the day is done,

With little stiff legs to waddle² and run?

Pray you beg, borrow, or steal one son.

Hurrah³ for the corn-sheaves of Father John!
FATHER JOHN.

O maiden⁴ Mary, be wary⁵, be wary!

And go not down to the river,

Lest the kingfisher, your evil wisher,

Lure⁶ you down to the river,

Lest your white feet grow muddy,

Your red hair too ruddy

With the river-mud so red;

But when you are wed⁷

Go down to the river.

O maiden Mary, be very wary,

And dwell among the corn!

See, this dame⁸ Alice, maiden Mary,

Her hair is thin and white,

But she is a housewife good and wary,

And a great steel key hangs bright

From her gown, as red as the flowers in corn;

She is good and old like the autumn corn.
MAIDEN MARY.

This is knight⁹ Roland, Father John,

Stark¹⁰ in his arms from a field half-won;

Ask him if he has seen your son:

Roland, lay your sword on the corn,

The piled-up sheaves of the golden corn.
KNIGHT ROLAND.

Why does she kiss me, Father John?

She is my true love truly won!

Under my helm is room for one,

But the molten lead-streams trickle¹¹ and run

From my roof-tree, burning under the sun;

No corn to burn, we had eaten the corn,

There was no waste of the golden corn.
FATHER JOHN.

Ho, you reapers, away from the corn,

To march with the banner of Father John!
THE REAPERS.

We will win a house for Roland his son,

And for maiden Mary with hair like corn,

As red as the reddest of golden corn.
OMNES.

Father John, you have got a son,

Seven feet high when his helm is on

Pennon of Roland, banner of John,

Star of Mary, march well on.

1 reapers   

n.收割者，收获者( reaper的名词复数 )；收割机

参考例句：

• Ripe white wheat reapers reap ripe white wheat right. 成熟的白色小麦收割者最懂得收获成熟的白色小麦。 来自互联网
• A pair of reapers help fend off the attack. 几个收割者辅助攻击这些小狗。 来自互联网

2 waddle   

vi.摇摆地走；n.摇摆的走路(样子)

参考例句：

• I am pregnant.I waddle awkwardly and my big stomach pressed against the weight of the world. 我怀孕了，我滑稽可笑地瞒珊而行，大肚子上压着全世界的重量。
• We waddle and hop and have lots of fun.我们走起路来摇摇摆摆，还一跳一跳的。我们的生活很有趣。

3 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

4 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

5 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

6 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

7 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

8 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

9 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

10 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

11 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。