| |
| A LITTLE bird in the air | |
| Is singing of Thyri the fair, | |
| The sister of Svend the Dane; | |
| And the song of the garrulous bird | |
| In the streets of the town is heard, | 5 |
| And repeated again and again. | |
| Hoist up your sails of silk, | |
| And flee away from each other. | |
| |
| To King Burislaf, it is said, | |
| Was the beautiful Thyri wed, | 10 |
| And a sorrowful bride went she; | |
| And after a week and a day | |
| She has fled away and away | |
| From his town by the stormy sea. | |
| Hoist up your sails of silk, | 15 |
| And flee away from each other. | |
| |
| They say, that through heat and through cold, | |
| Through weald, they say, and through wold, | |
| By day and by night, they say, | |
| She has fled; and the gossips report | 20 |
| She has come to King Olaf’s court, | |
| And the town is all in dismay. | |
| Hoist up your sails of silk, | |
| And flee away from each other. | |
| |
| It is whispered King Olaf has seen, | 25 |
| Has talked with the beautiful Queen; | |
| And they wonder how it will end; | |
| For surely, if here she remain, | |
| It is war with King Svend the Dane, | |
| And King Burislaf the Vend! | 30 |
| Hoist up your sails of silk, | |
| And flee away from each other. | |
| |
| Oh, greatest wonder of all! | |
| It is published in hamlet and hall, | |
| It roars like a flame that is fanned! | 35 |
| The King—yes, Olaf the King— | |
| Has wedded her with his ring, | |
| And Thyri is Queen in the land! | |
| Hoist up your sails of silk, | |
| And flee away from each other. | 40 |
| |
