Queen Bengerd

All in the morning, long ere day,
She for her bridal-gift did pray,
—Woe be on her then, Queen Bengerd!

“Now give me Samsey to have and hold,
And let every maid pay a crown of gold!”

To Bengerd spake the King eftsoon:
“Thou must beg another boon!

“So many a maid lives in poverty
She cannot do it though she die!”

“Dear my lord, now heed my prayer,
Let no lady scarlet wear!”

“Oh, can she buy it with gold and fee
She may wear it full well for me!”

“Dear my lord, my prayer now heed,
That no son of a churl may ride a fair steed!”

“Oh, can he come by it in honestie
He may ride it full well for me!”

“Dear my lord, now give commands
To close all the havens with iron bands!”

“Now where shall I so much metal win
As to close all the havens with fetters in?”

“Up to Ribe will we fare,
We shall find good blacksmiths there.

“How dare the peasant hope for more
Than hut of wood and hingeless door?

“What more gear should a peasant gain
Than a single cow and oxen twain?

“For every son that his wife shall bear
A piece of gold shall be my share.

“A piece of gold for every son,
For every daughter half a one!”

The King slept first in the dawning dim,
And good Queen Dagmar appeared to him.

“When thou farest abroad thy foes to find
Bengerd must not bide behind!

“Bides Bengerd behind a year, I say,
The babe in the cradle must rue the day!”

“Now busk thee and boun thee, Bengerd the Queen!
Shalt fare to the foray with me, I ween.”

The first shaft shot from the foeman’s bark
In Bengerd’s bosom found its mark.

Now Bengerd in darksome mould abides,
And the peasant hath oxen and kine besides.

Now Bengerd lies in mirk and mould,
And every maid hath her crown of gold!
—Woe be on her then, Queen Bengerd!