The Leopard Queen

One night as I rode home
through the dark wood
I spied the Leopard Queen in a moonlit grove.
She gambolled in the moonlight
with her golden cubs,
with a golden ring thro' her nose.

I hid myself in the boughs of an oak
Her beauty for to behold-
O how the moonlight shone down
on her paws
And her coat of tawny gold.

I vowed that I would take her home to my fireside hearth so
bright,
But the Owl's cry
broke the midnight spell
And alas, she did take fright.

Soft as the breeze
Silent as the night,
My Leopard Queen did flee
With her cubs, like golden shadows
into the dusky lee.

O how my heart doth pine for her,
My fireside drab and lone,
I pray that I might find her again and take her for my own
O I pray that I might find her again and take her for my own.