The Daily Milwaukee News (Nov. 15, 1855) printed a "modernized" version of this "eccentric ballad" of "about the year 1450": AN OLD BALLAD I have a young sister, Far beyond the sea; Many were the presents That she sent me. She sent me a cherry Without any stone She sent me a pigeon, Without any bone; Without any thorns She sent me a briar, She bade me love my lover And that without desire. How can a cherry Be without a stone? How can a pigeon Be without a bone? How can a briar Be without a thorn? And whoe'er loved without desire Since true love first was born? When the cherry was a blossom, Then it had no stone; When the dove [sic] was in the egg, Then it had no bone. When first the briar sprouted, Never a thorn it bore; When a maiden has her lover, Oh, then she longs no more. Pretty neat! It was reprinted in papers in a half-dozen states. The speaker is clearly female. The twist on her sister's advice in the last line is totally unexpected.
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