Page:A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.djvu/306

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 * two great oxen in my stable,
 * Two great white oxen marked with red,
 * The plough is made of wood of maple,
 * The goad of holly, hard as lead.
 * Thanks to my oxen, see my plain
 * In summer like a sea of gold!
 * More money in a week they gain,
 * Than what they cost by twenty-fold.
 * Should I be forced to sell them out,
 * I'll hang myself, without a doubt;

I love my wife, and well my Jeanne I cherish, But let her die, before my favourites perish.


 * See the lovely pair together!
 * How deep they plough, how straight they trace!
 * Rain, and sleet, and stormy weather,
 * Cold and heat, alike they face!
 * When I make them halt to drink
 * From their nostrils bursts a vapour!
 * And sometimes small birds, white and pink,
 * Settle on ebon horns that taper!
 * Should I be forced to sell them out,
 * I'll hang myself, without a doubt;

I love my wife, and well my Jeanne I cherish, But let her die, before my favourites perish.