Said the witch-wife: Didst thou see aught
else? Yea, said Birdalone, and was weeping somewhat
now; which forsooth was not hard for her to do, over-wrought
as she was betwixt hope and fear: yea, I saw
my white doe and her fawn, and they passed close by
me; and two herons flew over my head toward the water;
and . . . But the witch turned sharply and said:
Thrall! hast thou seen a woman to-day in the wood?
A woman? said Birdalone, and what woman, my lady, said
Birdalone. Hath any woman come to the house,
and passed forth into the wood?
The dame looked on her carefully, and remembered how
she had faltered and changed countenance that other
day, when she had charged her with being minded to
flee; and now she saw her with wondering face, and
in no wise confused or afraid of guilt, as it seemed;
so she believed her tale, and being the more at ease
thereby, her wrath ran off her, and she spake altogether
pleasantly to Birdalone, and said: Now I have
had my gird at thee, my servant, I must tell thee that
in sooth it is not all for nothing that thou hast
had these months of rest; for verily thou hast grown
more of a woman thereby, and hast sleekened and rounded
much. Albeit, the haysel will wait no longer
for us, and the day after to-morrow we must fall to
on it. But when that is done, thou shalt be
free to do thy green gown, or what thou wilt, till
wheat harvest is toward; and thereafter we shall see
to it. Or what sayest thou?
Birdalone wondered somewhat at this so gracious word,
but not much; for in her heart now was some guile
born to meet the witch’s guile; so she knelt
down and took the dame’s hands and kissed them,
and said: I say nought, lady, save that I thank
thee over and over again that thou art become so good
to me; and that I will full merrily work for thee
in the hay-field, or at whatsoever else thou wilt.
And indeed she was so light-hearted that she had so
escaped from the hand of the witch for that time,
and above all, that she had gotten a friend so kind
and dear as the wood-woman, that her heart went out
even toward her mistress, so that she went nigh to
loving her.
CHAPTER IX. OF BIRDALONE’S SWIMMING
Full fair was the morrow morn, and Birdalone arose
betimes before the sun was up, and she thought she
would make of this a holiday before the swink afield
began again, since the witch was grown good toward
her. So she did on her fair shoes, and her new
raiment, though the green gown was not fully done,
and said to herself that she would consider what she
would do with her holiday when she was amidst of her
bathing.
So she went down to the water-side, and when she was
standing knee-deep in the little sandy bight aforesaid,
she looked over to Green Eyot, and was minded to swim
over thither, as oft she did. And it was a windless
dawn after a hot night, and a light mist lay upon the
face of the water, and above it rose the greenery of
the eyot.
