Classic Poem

HEY ! hey! by this day!
What availeth it me though I say nay?

I would fain be a clerk,
But yet it is a strange work;
The birchen twigs be so sharp,
It maketh me have a faint heart.
What availeth it me though I say nay?

On Monday in the morning when I shall rise
At six of the clock, it is the guise
To go to school without advice —
I would rather go twenty miles twice!
What availeth it me though I say nay?

My master looketh as he were mad:
" Where hast thou been, thou sorry lad?"
" Milking ducks, as my mother bade":
It was no marvel that I were sad.
What availeth it me though I say nay?

My master peppered my tail with good speed,
It was worse than fennel seed,
He would not leave till it did bleed.
Much sorrow have he for his deed!
What availeth it me though I say nay?

I would my master were a hare,
And all his books greyhounds were,
And I myself a jolly hunter;
To blow my horn I would not spare,
For if he were dead I would not care!
What availeth it me though I say nay?