Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FAIRY AND THE THREE WISHES; AN ORIENTAL TALE, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE FAIRY AND THE THREE WISHES; AN ORIENTAL TALE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A fairy of the friendly sort
Last Line: Which none can borrow, beg, or steal!
Subject(s): Wishes


A FAIRY of the friendly sort
Who serve mankind as if in sport,
Know how to wash and sweep a room
With twirling mop and whisking broom,
In garden work are skillful too,
And apt in all that huswives do;
But if you cross them, lo! they cease
Their industry with strange caprice,
Or, more perversely, quickly spoil
The product of their former toil, --
A fairy of this curious kind
(Which still in merry books we find)
Had aided long a farmer's skill
His land to plow and plant and till,
Until the honest yeoman grew
Not rich, indeed, but well-to-do,
Thanks to the fairy, -- nimble sprite!
Who served his master day and night
(For still the fay his vigils kept
While master, man, and mistress slept),
Until at last the vagrant mood
That ever rules the goblin-brood
Was his no more: he fain would dwell
With those whom he has served so well;
For to the giver kindness makes
A joy surpassing his who takes.
But now, alas! (and hence we see
That fays have griefs as well as we,)
An order from the Fairy-King
Came, with an escort, charged to bring
The farmer's favorite, that he
Might straight attend his Majesty
At Land's-End! -- he would have it so,
And so, perforce, the fay must go.
But ere he left his rustic life,
He bade the farmer and his wife
Three several wishes to express.
"Just three," he said, "no more, -- nor less,
And these will I at once fulfill,
Whate'er, my friends, may be your will!"
The first was sure an easy task;
For wealth -- vast wealth, of course, they ask.
It comes! and with it all the train
Of ills that vex the heart and brain
Of those who pay the taxes which
(Beside the king's!) annoy the rich, --
Thieves, swindlers, beggars, borrowers, all
That plunder parlor, kitchen, hall,
By various arts, -- force, fraud, and lies!
"Take all away!" the farmer cries;
"The poor are happier than they
Who to such harpies fall a prey;
O, give us back, dear sprite, once more
Contentment and our humble store"
Two wishes gone, -- to bring the man
And dame just where they first began!
At thought of this they laughed outright;
So did the fairy (sprightly sprite!)
But ere he went, with friendly voice,
He helped them to a better choice;
'T was WISDOM! riches of the mind,
Surpassing all that misers find
In money-bags; abundance rare
And void of grief and carking care;
Wealth -- if it bear the genuine seal --
Which none can borrow, beg, or steal!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net