Be thankful, then, and praise me every day
That I have brought no other women with me
To spoil you of your share.
The Younger Woman:
Ah, you have always been a friend to me:
Many's the time I have said I did not know
How I could even have lived but for your kindness.
[The ELDER WOMAN draws down the bedclothes from the Queen's body,
loosens them from the bed, and throws them on the floor.]
The Elder Woman:
Pull her feet straight: is your mind wandering?
[She commences to fold the bedclothes, singing as she moves about.]
A louse crept out of my lady's shift--
Ahumm, Ahumm, Ahee--
Crying "Oi! Oi! We are turned adrift;
The lady's bosom is cold and stiffed,
And her arm-pit's cold for me."
[While the ELDER WOMAN sings, the YOUNGER WOMAN straightens the Queen's
feet and ties them together, draws the pillow from under her head,
gathers her hair in one hand and knots it roughly; then she loosens her
nightgown, revealing a jewel hung on a cord round the Queen's neck.]
The Elder Woman (running to the vacant side of the bed):
What have you there? Give it to me.
The Younger Woman:
It is mine:
I found it.
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