"Alas, pore mayde! Ye nede nat to fere that for ye know well anoughe howe that ye shulde lye! And ye haue bene at the tauerne & dronke so muche that ye be dronke. For I knowe well that the younge men of the vyllages can teche maydens the nyght daunses in the corne when that it is hye, and tha haue ye well proued for in your vyllage dwell manye younge fellowes."

Than sayd Mary, "A, good aunte, wherefore saye ye so?"

"A dobell tonge it wyll nat tell the trowth, but I knowe well that ye haue daunsed many a daunse where there was no mynstrel! And ye be a mayde styll to your belly were great!"

The English translation is more restrained than the original Dutch. In the original, the aunt's insults include an allegation of an incestuous relationship between the girl and her uncle, as well as a hint that the aunt may attack Mariken. Mariken is so depressed that she walks out of town alone crying for help from "God or the Devil, it's all the same to me."

Mariken encounters Lucifer, disguised as a one-eyed, itinerant scholar, who offers to teach her magic and the seven liberal arts in return for her submission. She becomes his mistress and together they travel the country. While in Antwerp, she happens to witness a wagon-play that convinces her to repent. She leaves Lucifer and returns to her old uncle. Together they journey to the Pope himself to find absolution for Mariken's sins. After many years of heavy penance, a miracle signals her divine forgiveness.