Now, down in the forest, a young man went riding
He passed by the great tree, and saw it was dying
The leaves and the bark were all rotten and rife
The tree had been poisoned and drained for its life
He stripped off a piece of the bark of the tree
And straight 'way he know what the right cure should be

The man built a fire and chopped down the tree
The worm started screaming: it could not break free
It thrashed and it lashed, but it could net break loose
Trapped in that tree like a thief in a noose
The worm burst asunder a vile smelling crust
He hacked it to pieces and burnt it to dust