Grand history on curious subjects, both entertaining and pleasant/The Shepherd and his Flock

The Shepherd and his Flock.

UPON yon heather hill so high,
⁠The shepherd’s flock doth go,
Both night and day they there do stay,
⁠Thro winter’s frost and snow.

The shepherd rises from his bed,
⁠Himself doth ready make,
Gets on his shoes and snow-boots both,
⁠His journey for to take.

Away in haste the shepherd goes,
⁠With courage if stout and bold,
With dog, his plaid, and kent also,
⁠He fears no frost nor cold.

The shepherd goes to view his flock,
⁠To see if they be right;
Gin no devouring beast hath come,
⁠Upon them in the night.

For to disturb his flock’s repose
⁠When they were left alone,
Just in the dead time of the night,
⁠When he to bed was gone.

Some times the ravening wolf doth come
⁠And catches some also,
Or windy storms may drive astray,
⁠Or cover them with snow.

He gathers all his flock also,
⁠Just with his special care,
For fear that any one be lost,
⁠No toil or pains doth spare.

Then all the stormy winter day
⁠His flock he doth attend,
With chearful heart and willing mind,
⁠The tedious hours doth spend.

The stormy winter doth pass o’er,
⁠The spring-time it doth come,
April it is the month also,
⁠Ewes brings forth their young.

He rises early with the sun,
⁠While doth the small birds sing,
For to attend his ewes and lambs,
⁠Till Phœbus evening bring.

Such pleasant music fills his ear,
⁠ The bleating lambs also,
The ewes doth answer them again,
⁠By bleating as they go.

When ev’ry brae’s with verdure clad
⁠Of pleasant flowr’s that spring,
He sits him down to take a rest,
⁠A pleasant song to sing.

Altho’ of gold and money scant,
⁠He's cheerful and content,
For to attend his flock each day,
⁠With dog his plaid and kent.

While as the summer doth pass on,
⁠ He doth his flock thus shear,
And every time his sheep is shorn,
⁠ Their coat hath worn a year.

He spanes his sucking lambs also,
⁠When the set time doth come,
Altho’ he still lets some suck on.
⁠While yet they are but young.

They then prepare a bught of fleck,
⁠To milk his ewes also;
The charming maids come out to milk,
⁠Thus singing as they go:

A pleasant life the shepherd hath,
⁠He loves the lasses dear,
And when that he comes home at night,
⁠Of kissing he’s not sweer

He rises early by the sun,
⁠To bught his ewes also,
The maids again doth rise with him,
⁠Into the bught they go:

Then all the pleasant summer day ,
⁠The herd his flock doth keep,
And while that others toil and drudge,
⁠The shepherd feeds his sheep.

And when the heathers in the bloom,
⁠All round about him steers,
The busy bees with humming drone,
⁠In sun-shine days he hears.

The shepherd may employ his hand,
⁠Or yet his mind employ,
Contemplating his Maker’s works,
⁠Or books he may enjoy.

And when the year is crowned full,
⁠Then winter doth draw near,
He doth prepare himself also,
⁠With tar his flock to smear.

To kill the keds and vermin then,
⁠And keep them warm also,
Thro’ cold and frosty winter nights
⁠When stormy winds do blow.

A short hint of the shepherd here,
⁠A hearty lad is he,
Of all the wight and supple lads
⁠The shepherd bears the gree.