There were two Fairies, Gimmul and Mel Loved Earth Man's honey passing well; Oft at the hives of his tame bees They would their sugary thirst appease. When even began to darken to night, They would hie along in the fading light, With elf-locked hair and scarlet lips, And small stone knives to slit the skeps, So softly not a bee inside Should hear the woven straw divide. And then with sly and greedy thumbs Would rifle the sweet honeycombs. And drowsily drone to drone would say, "A cold, cold wind blows in this way”; And the great Queen would turn her head From face to face, astonished, And, though her maids with comb and brush Would comb and soothe and whisper, “Hush!” About the hive would shrilly go A keening -- keening, to and fro; At which those robbers 'neath the trees Would taunt and mock the honey-bees, And through their sticky teeth would buzz Just as an angry hornet does. And when this Gimmul and this Mel Had munched and sucked and swilled their fill, Or ever Man's first cock could crow Back to their Faërie Mounds they'd go, Edging across the twilight air, Thieves of a guise remotely fair.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], pages 147-148.
Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The honey robbers", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 6. Witches and Fairies, no. 10, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-12
Line count: 30
Word count: 201