[6-text p 184]
Thus haþ þis wydewe hire litel child y-tauȝt
Oure blisful lady cristes mooder deere /
To worschipe ay and he forgat it nought
ffor sely child wol alday sone lere
Line 1702
But ay whan I remembre me on þis matere
Seynt Nicholas stant euer in my presence
ffor he so ȝonge to crist dede reuerence
Line 1705
¶ This child his litel book lernynge [folio 212b]
As he sat in þe scole at his primere
he alma redemptoris herde synge /
As children lerned here antiphoner
Line 1709
And as he durste he drough him ner and neer
And herkned ay þe wordes and þe noote /
Til he þe firste vers couþe al by roote /
Line 1712
Nouȝt wiste he what þe latyn was to say
ffor he so ȝong and tender was of age /
But on a day his felawe gan he preye
To expounen him þis song in his langage /
Line 1716
Or tellen him why þis song was in vsage /
This preyde he him to construe and declare /
fful ofte tyme vpon his knees bare /
Line 1719
his felawe which þat elder was þan he
Answerde him þus þis song I haue herd say
Was maked of oure blisful lady fre
hire to salue and eeke hire for to pray
Line 1723
To ben oure helpe and socour whan we deye
I can no more expounde in þis matiere
I lerne song I can but smale gramere /
Line 1726
¶ And is þis song ymade in reuerence
Of cristes mooder sayde þis Innocent
Now certes I wol don my diligence
To konne it er Cristemas be went
Line 1730
