272 MERRIE ENGLAND
And he assommet and sett of vi. and of fyve,
And J?er-to borely and brode and of body grete,
And a coloppe for a kynge, cache hym who myghte.
30 Bot there sewet hym a sorwe ]?at seruet hym full 3erne)
That woke & warned hym when the wynde faylede,
That none so sleghe in his slepe with sleghte scholde hym dere,
And went the wayes hym by-fore when any wothe tyde.
My lyame than full lightly lete I doun falle,
35 And to the bole of a birche my berselett I cowchide;
I waitted wisely the wynde by waggynge of leues,
Stalkede full stilly no stikkes to breke,
And crepite to a crabtre and couerede me ther-undere:
Then I bende vp my bowe and bownede me to schote,
40 Tighte vp my tylere and taysede at the hert:
Bot the sowre }>at hym sewet sett vp the nese,
And wayttede wittyly abowte & wyndide full gerne.
Then I moste stonde als I stode, and stirre no fote ferrere,
For had I myntid or mouede or made any synys,
45 Alle my layke hade bene loste )>at I hade longe wayttede.
Bot gnattes gretely me greuede and gnewen myn eghne;
And he stotayde and stelkett and starede full brode,
Bot at the laste he loutted doun & laughte till his mete
And I hallede to the hokes and the herte smote,
50 And happenyd that I hitt hym be-hynde J>e lefte scholdire
six and five tines, and was large, broad and big of body: whoever
30 might catch him, he was a dish for a king. But there followed him a
fourth-year buck that most eagerly attended him, and aroused and
warned him when the wind failed, so that no one should be sly
enough to harm him in his sleep by stealth. He went in front of
him when any danger was to be feared.
I let the leash fall to the ground quietly, and settled down my
35 hound by the bole of a birch tree, and took careful note of the
wind from the fluttering of the leaves. I stalked on very quietly so
as to break no twigs, and crept to a crab-apple tree and hid under-
neath it.
40 Then I wound up my bow and prepared to shoot, drew up the
tiller and aimed at the hart, but the buck who attended the hart
lifted up his nose, looked cautiously around, and eagerly snuffed
about. Then, perforce, I had to stand without moving, and to stir
no foot, although gnats grievously troubled me and bit my eyes,
45 for if I had tried to move, or made any sign, all my sport, that I
had so long awaited, would have been lost. The hart paused, went
on cautiously, staring here and there, but at last he bent down and
began on his feed. Then I hauled to the hook (i.e. the trigger of the
50 cross-bow) and smote the hart. It so happened that I hit him