When daffodils begin to peer

When daffodils begin to peer, —

With, hey! the doxy over the dale, —

Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year;

For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.

The white sheet bleaching on the hedge, —

With, hey! the sweet birds, how they sing! —

Doth set my pugging tooth on edge;

For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.

The lark, that tirra-lirra chants, —

With, hey! with, hey! the thrush and the jay, —

Are summer songs for me and my aunts,

While we lie tumbling in the hay.

from _The Winter's Tale_ IV.iii