May I sleep in your barn tonight, mister? It's so cold lying out on the ground, and the cold north wind is a-whistling, and I have no place to lie down.Now I have no tobacco nor matches, and I'm sure I can cause you no harm. I will tell you my story, kind mister, for it runs through my heart like a storm.It was three years ago just last summer, I shall never forget that sad day, when a stranger came out from the city and said that he wanted to stay.Now this stranger was fair, tall, and handsome, and he looked like a man who had wealth, and he wanted to stay in the country. He said he wanted to stop for his health.One night as I came from my workshop, I was whistling and singing with joy. I expected a kind, hearty welcome from my sweet, loving wife and my boy.But what did I find but a letter. It was placed in my room on a stand, and the moment my eyes fell upon it, I picked it right up in my hand.Now this note said my wife and the stranger had left and had taken my son. Oh, I wonder if God up in heaven only knows what this stranger has done.May I sleep in your barn tonight, mister? It's so cold lying out on the ground, and the cold north wind is a-whistling, and I have no place to lie down.