'What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack?' she cried, as he came panting up
the steep, and bent down before her.
'Fish for thy net, when the
wind is foul? I have a little reed-pipe, and when I blow on it the
mullet come sailing into the bay. But it has a price, pretty boy,
it has a price.
What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? A storm to wreck
the ships, and wash the chests of rich treasure ashore? I have
more storms than the wind has, for I serve one who is stronger than
the wind, and with a sieve and a pail of water I can send the great
galleys to the bottom of the sea. But I have a price, pretty boy,
I have a price.
What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? I know a flower
that grows in the valley, none knows it but I. It has purple
leaves, and a star in its heart, and its juice is as white as milk.
Shouldst thou touch with this flower the hard lips of the Queen,
she would follow thee all over the world. Out of the bed of the
King she would rise, and over the whole world she would follow
thee. And it has a price, pretty boy, it has a price.
What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? I can pound a toad in a mortar, and make
broth of it, and stir the broth with a dead man's hand. Sprinkle
it on thine enemy while he sleeps, and he will turn into a black
viper, and his own mother will slay him. With a wheel I can draw
the Moon from heaven, and in a crystal I can show thee Death.
What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? Tell me thy desire, and I will give it
thee, and thou shalt pay me a price, pretty boy, thou shalt pay me
a price.'
