Aucassin and Nicolette

XIX

Sung

Nicolette of the luminous face
Left the child shepherds
and went on her way
through the leafy woods
all the way down a very old footpath,
so that she saw a crossroads
which had seven paths
that would take her through the land.
The urge came to her then
to put her friend to the test
to see if he loved her as much as he claimed.
She cut some lily flowers,
some scrubland plants,
some foliage also
and made a beautiful hut out of it,
prettier than anything I've seen.
She swore by the truthful God
that, if Aucassin passed by there,
without resting there a bit
out of love for her,
he would never be her friend
nor she his friend.