Then Martin touched his lute and sang as follows, so softly and sweetly that they, not regarding, hardly knew the sound of his song from the heavy-sweet scent of the ungathered apples over their heads.

Toss me your golden ball, laughing maid, lovely maid, Lovely maid, laughing maid, toss me your ball!

I'll catch it and throw it, and hide it and show it, And spin it to heaven and not let it fall.

Boy, run away with you! I will not play with you-- This is no ball!

We are too old to be playing at ball.

Toss me the golden sun, laughing maid, lovely maid, Lovely maid, laughing maid, toss me the sun!

I'll wheel it, I'll whirl it, I'll twist it and twirl it Till c.o.c.ks crow at midnight and day breaks at one.

Boy, I'll not sport with you! Boy, to be short with you, This is no sun!

We are too young to play tricks with the sun.

Toss me your golden toy, laughing maid, lovely maid, Lovely maid, laughing maid, toss me your toy!

It's all one to me, girl, whatever it be, girl So long as it's round that's enough for a boy.

Boy, come and catch it then!--there now! Don't s.n.a.t.c.h it then!

Here comes your toy!

Apples were made for a girl and a boy.

There was no sound or movement from the girls in the shadows.

"Farewell, then," said Martin. "I must carry my tunes and tales elsewhere."

Like pebbles from a catapult the milkmaids shot to the gate.

"Tales?" cried Jessica.

"Do you know tales?" exclaimed Jennifer.

"What kind of tales?" demanded Jane.

"Love-tales?" panted Joyce.

"Six of them?" urged little Joan.

"A thousand!" said Martin Pippin.

Joscelyn's hand lay on the bolt.

"Man," she said, "come in."

She opened the wicket, and Martin Pippin walked into the Apple Orchard.

PRELUDE TO THE FIRST TALE

"And now," said Martin Pippin, "what exactly do you require of me?"

"If you please," said little Joan, "you are to tell us a love-story that has never been told before."

"But we have reason to fear," added Jane, "that there is no such story left in all the world."

"There you are wrong," said Martin, "for on the contrary no love-story has ever been told twice. I never heard any tale of lovers that did not seem to me as new as the world on its first morning. I am glad you have a taste for love-stories."

"We have not," said Joscelyn, very quickly.

"No, indeed!" cried her five fellows.

"Then shall it be some other kind of tale?"

"No other kind will do," said Joscelyn, still more quickly.

"We must all bear our burdens," said Martin; "so let us make ourselves as happy as we can in an apple-tree, and when the tale becomes too little to your taste you shall munch apples and forget it."

"Will you sit in the swing?" asked Jennifer, pointing to the midmost apple-tree, which was the largest in the orchard, and had a little swing hanging from a long upper limb.

Close to the apple-tree, a branch of which indeed brushed its mossed pent-roof, stood the Well-House. It had a round wall of old red bricks growing green with time, and a pillar of oak rose up at each point of the compa.s.s to support the pent. Between the south and west pillars was a green door, held by a rusty chain and a padlock with six keyholes.

The little circular court within was flagged, and three rings of worn steps led to the well-head and the green wooden bucket inverted on the coping. Between the cracks of the flags sprang gra.s.s, and pink-starred centaury, and even a trail of mallow sprawled over the steps where Gillian lay in tears, as though to wreathe her head with its striped blooms.

"What luck you have," said Martin, "not only to live in an orchard, but to have a swing to swing in."

"It is our one diversion," said Joyce, "except when you come to play to us."

"It is delightful to swing," said little Joan invitingly.

"So it is," agreed Martin, "and I beg you to sit in the swing while I sit on this bough, and when I see your eyelids growing heavy with my tale I will start the rope and rouse you--thus!"

So saying, he lifted the littlest milkmaid lightly into her perch and gave her so vigorous a push that she cried out with delight, as at one moment the point of her shoe cleared the door of the Well-House, and at the next her heels were up among the apples. Then Martin ensconced himself upon a lower limb of the tree, which had a mossy cushion against the trunk as though nature or time had designed it for a teller of tales. The milkmaids sprang quickly into other branches around him, shaking a hail of sweet apples about his head. What he could he caught, and dropped into the swinger's lap, whence from time to time he helped himself; and she did likewise.

"Begin," said Joscelyn.

"A thought has occurred to me," said Martin Pippin, "and it is that my tale may disturb your master's daughter."

"We desire it to," said Joscelyn looking down on the Well-House and the yellow head of Gillian. "The fear is rather that you may not arouse her attention, so I hope that when you speak you will speak clearly. For to tell you the truth we have heard that nothing but six love-tales will wash from her mind the image of--"

"Of whom?" inquired Martin as she paused.

"It does not matter whom," said Joscelyn, "but I think the time is ripe to confess to you that the silly damsel is in love."

"The world is so full of wonders," said Martin Pippin, "that one ceases to be surprised at almost anything."

"Is love then," said little Joan, "so rare a thing in the world?"

"The rarest of all things," answered Martin, looking gravely into her eyes. "It is as rare as flowers in Spring."

"I am glad of that," said Joan; while Joscelyn objected, "But nothing is commoner."

"Do you think so?" said Martin. "Perhaps you are right. Yet Spring after Spring the flowers quicken my heart as though I were perceiving them for the first time in my life--yes, even the very commonest of them."