Songs and Riddles from Mattimeo

Compiled by Rowan Treeleaper

"O if I feel sick or pale,
What makes my old eyes shine?
Some good October ale
And sweet blackcurrant wine.
I'd kill a dragon for half a flagon,
I'd wrestle a stoat to wet my throat,
I'd strangle a snake, all for the sake
Of lovely nutbrown beer....
Nuhuhuhut broooowwwwwnnnnn beeeeheeeyer!"
    -Ambrose Spike and Basil Stag Hare's Drinking Song
 

"Malkariss, Ruler of the pit,
Lord of the deep and dark,
I am Nadaz, the Voice of the Host
To which your sevants hark.
Hear me, O ruler of eternal night,
Whose eyes see all we do,
King of the void beneath the earth,
we bring our pleas to you."
    -Nadaz's Hail to Malkariss


"Fight a flagon an' drink a dragon,
Gizzard a lizard an' split his blizzard,
Ride a spider for good ol' cider,
Gooooood oooooold ciderrrrrrrr!"

"I'd roll a mole an' squeeze a sparrow,
Or shoot a rat wiv a big sharp arrow,
For good ol' bla-ha-ha-hack currant wiiiiiiine!"

"Seeker Flounder inner stones,
I catch a rat an' break his bones,
Give Mr. Spike a good hard strike,
For good ol' strawhawahaw beherreeee corjullllll!"

"I wrestle a fish upon a dish,
Cut off his 'ead while he's in bed,
an' take a rat an' make him dead,
for goooooood ooooooold cideeeeeeerrrrrrr!"

"Chop up a rook'n make a soup,
Send him to bed wivout any bread,
Dip his tail in 'tober ale,
An' good ol' magpie pie!"
    -Baby Rollo's Songs


"To table, to table, and eat what you may,
Come brothers, come sisters, come all.
Be happy, be joyful, upon our feast day,
Eight seasons of peace in Redwall.
So sing from dusk to dawn
And let the Abbey bells ring.
The sun will bring the morn,
And still we will merrily sing."
    -Call to Feast


"Fur and whisker, tooth and claw,
All who enter by our door.
Nuts and herbs, leaves and fruits,
Berries, tubers, plants and roots,
Silver fish whose life we take,
Only for a meal to make."
    -Grace


"Lalalalalalala, we travel from afar,
Derrydown dill, over vale and hill.
We camp beneath the stars.
Lalalalalalala, good fortune to you, sir.
The strolling players bring to you
Magic from everywhere...."
    -Skinpaw's Performer Song


"See the stars, see the moon,
Penned around by blackest night.
See the diamonds red and purple,
Silk and fire and blood and light.
See them turning, ever turning,
Like a great mandala wheel,
Spinning as the fire is burning.
What is false and what is real...?"
    -Slagar's Hypnotizing Song


"Suns that set as seasons turn,
Flowers grow and wither yet.
Who can say what flame may burn,
Friends that we have known and met.
Look into the young one's eyes,
See the winter turn to spring,
Across the quiet eternal lake,
Ripples spreading in a ring."
    -Eulogy


"Sillybeast, sillybeast, trusting me.
Mad you think I had a key.
Stupid you, clever me,
Scurl has pretty gifts for free."
    -Scurl's Taunt


"Seek the Founder in the stones where the little folk go."
    -Martin's Message to the Abbot


"Upon this stone rest all our hopes and efforts.  Let Redwall Abbey stand for ever as a home for the peaceful and a haven for woodlanders.  In the Spring of the Late Snowdrops this stone was laid in its place by our Champion, Martin the Warrior, and our Founder, Abbess Germaine.  May our winters be short, the springtimes green, our summers long and the autumns fruitful."
    -Writing on the Cornerstone


"Yurr she coom!
Hurr she doo!
Yurr she coom!
'eave, mole crew!"
    -Mole Worksong


"Through the seasons, here I lie,
'neath this Redwall that we made.
Solve the mystery, you must try,
Graven deep it will not fade.
Somewhere twixt our earth and sky,
Birds and gentle breezes roam.
There a key you might espy,
To that place I once called home.
Take this graven page and seek
What my words in stone could mean.
What can't fly, yet has a beak,
Mixed up letters evergreen.
Two Bees, two Ohs
One Sea, one tap,
And weary without A.
Leave me now to my long rest,
Good fortune on your way."
    -Stone Tablet Riddle


"Those who wish to challenge fate,
To a jumbled shout walk straight.
Sunset fires in dexteree,
Find where Loamhedge used to be.
At the high place near the skies,
Look for other watchful eyes.
Sleep not 'neath the darkpine trees,
Be on guard, take not your ease,
Voyage when the daylight dims,
Danger in the water swims.
Make no noise with spear or sword,
Lest you wake the longtail horde.
Shades of creatures who have died,
Bones of warriors who tried.
Shrink not from the barren land,
Look below from where you stand,
This is where a stone may fall and make no sound at all.
Those who cross and live to tell,
See the badger and the bell,
Face the lord who points the way
After noon on summer's day.
Death will open up its grave.
Who goes there...?  None but the brave."
    -Stone Crow Riddle


"A fox who fights and runs away,
Lives to fight another day."
    -Slagar's Old Woodland Verse