Who is that, father?
A mendicant, child,
Haggard, morose, and
unaffable – wild!
See how he glares through the bars of his cell!
With Citizen Mendicant all is not
well.
Why did
they put him there, father?
Because
Obeying his belly he struck at
the laws.
His belly?
Oh, well, he was starving, my boy –
A
state in which, doubtless, there's little of joy.
No bite had he eaten for
days, and his cry
Was "Bread!" ever "Bread!"
What's the matter with
pie?
With little to wear, he had nothing to sell;
To beg was
unlawful – improper as well.
Why didn't he work?
He would even
have done that,
But men said: "Get out!" and the State remarked: "Scat!"
I
mention these incidents merely to show
That the vengeance he took was
uncommonly low.
Revenge, at the best, is the act of a Siou,
But for
trifles –
Pray what did bad
Mendicant do?
Stole two loaves of bread to replenish his
lack
And tuck out the belly that clung to his back.
Is that all
father dear?
There's little to tell:
They sent him to jail, and
they'll send him to – well,
The company's better than here we can
boast,
And there's –
Bread for the needy, dear father?
Um –
toast.
(fictitiously attributed to Atka Mip, by Ambrose Bierce in The Devil's Dictionary)
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