A BRAHMIN, haughty, indolent, and poor, Entered, one day, a potter's open door, And, lying lazily upon the ground Among the earthen-ware that stood around In stately pyramids, at length began To think aloud; and thus his fancies ran: "With these small coins within my pocket, I Some pieces of this useful ware will buy, Which, at a profit, I will sell, and then Will purchase more; and, turning this again In the same fashion, I will buy and sell Until my growing trade will thrive so well That I shall soon be rich; so rich, indeed, That I can buy whatever I may need For use or luxury. And first of all I'll build a mansion, very grand and tall; And then, of course, as suits a man of taste, I'll have four wives, all beautiful and chaste. But one in beauty will excel the rest, And her, 't is certain, I shall love the best; Whereat the others (I foresee it) will Be jealous, and behave extremely ill; Whereat, as they deserve, I shall be quick To beat the vixens well with this good stick." And in his reverie the fellow struck Among the pots and pans, (woe worth the luck!) With so much force they fell, and all around His foolish head the pieces strewed the ground. So fell the Brahmin's castle in the air; And, further still, to make the matter square, And mend the damage done that luckless day, With all he had the potter made him pay. L'ENVOI. This clever Hindoo fable, which (I'm told By grave savans) is many centuries old, Bears its own moral, plain as any print; And furnishes, besides, a lively hint Whence came that very charming modern tale, "The Country Maiden and her Milking Pail!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A COMPARISON by WILLIAM COWPER THE STORY OF URIAH by RUDYARD KIPLING THE CAPTAIN; A LEGEND OF THE NAVY by ALFRED TENNYSON OH, LOVE THOU TOO! by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS UNION SONG by ERNST MORITZ ARNDT |