The silvered head will sue in vain,
A maiden's love beseeching;
The maid, despising it, is fain
To flee afar with screeching;
Like Hangman's Well it causes pain,
Where dead men's bones are bleaching.
And furthermore:
Slow, tottering steps the strength exhaust;
The eye unsteady blinks;
From driveling mouth the teeth are lost;
The handsome figure shrinks;
The limbs are wrinkled: relatives
And wife contemptuous pass;
The son no further honor gives
To doddering age. Alas!
Now one night, while she was turning her back to him in bed, a thief entered the house. And she was terrified at seeing a thief, and embraced her husband, old as he was. He, for his part, felt every limb thrill with astonishment and love, and he thought: "Gracious me! Why does she hug me tonight?" Then, peering narrowly about, he discovered the thief in a corner, and reflected: "No doubt she embraces me from fear of him." So he said to the thief:
"She who always shrank from me,
Hugs me to her breast;
Thank you, benefactor! Take
What you like the best."
And the thief made reply:
"Nothing here that I should like;
Should I want a thing,
