This is the whole verse of the one I tried to post last time.
The
Mayor was dumb, and the
Council stood Se Burgealdor wæs dumb, and þæt Ġield stōd
As if they were changed into blocks of wood, Swiċe forscōpen hīe in onhwēawas,
Unable to move a step, or cry Ne magon āstyrian stæpe, oððe ċirmað
To the children merrily skipping by, Tō þǣm bearnum blīðelīċe hlēopon be him,
And could only follow with the eye And magon ænlīċe æfterfylgan mid þǣm ēagan
That joyous crowd at the Piper's back. Þǣm blīðum þrēatum æt þæs Pīperes bæce.
But how the
Mayor was on the rack, Ac hū wæs se Burgealdor on þǣre hengen,
And the
wretched Council's bosoms beat, And þæs fēasceaftes Ġieldes bōsmas bēoton,
As the Piper turned from the High Street Swā ċierde se Pīpere fram þǣm Hēahweġe
To where the Weser roll’d its waters Tō þǣr wealwode sēoWeser hiere wæter
Right in the way of their sons and daughters! Eallrihte in þǣm weġe hiera suna and dohtra!
However he turned from South to West, Swāðēah ċierde hē fram Sūðum tō Westum,
And to Koppelberg Hill his steps addressed, And tō Koppelberg Hyll his stæpas mynodon,
And after him the children pressed; And æfter him þā bearn þrungon;
Great was the joy in every breast. Miċel wæs sēo blīðnes in ǣlcum bōsme.
“He never can cross that mighty top! Hē nǣfre mæġ oferfēran þone mihtiġne cnæp!
He's forced to let the piping drop, Hit hine ġenӯt hwistlung oflinnan,
And we shall see our children stop!'' And wē scēawiaþ ūre bearn healtian!”
When, lo, as they reached the mountain-side, Þā, lā, swā ġerǣċaþ hīe þæs muntes sidan,
A wondrous
portal opened wide, Wrǣtlīċ port ġerӯmþ wide,
As if a
cavern was suddenly hollowed; Swilċe wæs samnunga hol āholod;
And the Piper advanced and the children followed, And se Pīpere forþstōp and þā bearn folgodon,
And when all were in to the very last, And þā wǣron eall innan tō þǣre endelāfe,
The door in the mountain-side shut fast. Sēo duru in þǣm muntes sidan betӯnde fæste.
Did I say, all? No! One was lame, Sæġde iċ, eall? Nese! Ān wæs lama,
And could not dance the whole of the way; And ne meahte þæt ful fær intrepettan;
And in after years, if you would blame And in æfterrum ġēarum, ġif man leahtrode
His sadness, he was used to say, -- His sāriġnes, hē cwæðe, --
“It's dull in our town since my playmates left! Ūre burg is unglæd siððan mine plegmæccas sīðode!
I can't forget that I'm
bereft Iċ ne mæġ forġietan þe iċ eom lēas
Of all the pleasant sights they see, Ealla wynsuma ġesiht þe hīe sēoþ,
Which the Piper also promised me. Þe se Pīpere ēac mē behēt.
For he led us, he said, to a joyous land, Forþӯ lǣdede hē, hē cwæþ, tō lustbǣrum lande,
Joining the town and just at hand, Ġeðēodan þone burg and þǣr æt hande,
Where waters gushed and fruit-trees grew, Þǣr wæter guton and æppleltrēow wēoxon.
And flowers put forth a fairer hue, And blōstman forðdydon fægerre hīw,
And everything was strange and new; And ǣlcuht wæs elelendisc and nīwe;
The sparrows were brighter than peacocks here, Þā spearwan wǣron beorhtran þonne pawan hēr,
And their dogs outran our fallow deer, And hiera hundas forurnon ūre hēorotas,
And honey-bees had lost their stings, And hunig-bēon forluson hiera stingas;
And horses were born with eagles' wings; And hors wæcnede mid earna fiðru;
And just as I became assured And swā wearþ iċ ġetrēowed
My lame foot would be speedily cured, Þe mīn healt fōt bēo hwætlīċe ġebēted,
The music stopped and I stood still, Se sōncræft endede and iċ ġestedigod,
And found myself outside the hill, And onfand þe iċ wæs wiðūtan þǣm hylle,
Left alone against my will, Lǣten ān unþances,
To go now limping as before, Fēran nū hinciende swā ǣr,
And never hear of that country more!'' And nǣfre hieran mā be þǣm lande!”
