Page:Collected poems vol 2 de la mare.djvu/160

 Till morning found him come into a country
 * Where none his Bad Face knew.

Past Mountain, River, Forest, River, Mountain —
 * That Thief's lean shanks sped on,

Till Evening found him knocking at a Dark House,
 * His breath now well-nigh gone.

There came a little maid and asked his business;
 * A Cobbler dwelt within;

And though she much misliked the Bag he carried,
 * She led the Bad Man in.

He bargained with the Cobbler for a lodging
 * And soft laid down his Sack —

In the Dead of Night, with none to spy or listen —
 * From off his weary back.

And he taught the little Chicks to call him Father,
 * And he sold his stolen Pelf,

And bought a Palace, Horses, Slaves, and Peacocks
 * To ease his wicked self.

And though the children never really loved him,
 * He was rich past all belief;

While Robin and his Dame o'er Delf and Pewter
 * Spent all their days in Grief.