Page:Poets of John Company.djvu/120

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They say thou art a glorious king,
 * And justice is thy care;

Then justly reign in thy domain,
 * Nor rob the birds of air."

Then cried the king: "A cow or deer
 * For thee shall straightway bleed,

Or let a ram or tender lamb
 * Be slain, for thee to feed.

Mine oath forbids me to betray
 * My little twice-born guest:

See, how she clings, with trembling wings.
 * To her protector's breast."

"No flesh of lambs," the hawk replied,
 * "No blood of deer for me;

The falcon loves to feed on doves.
 * And such is Heaven's decree.

But if affection for the dove
 * Thy pitying heart has stirred,

Let thine own flesh my maw refresh,
 * Weighed down against the bird."

He carved the flesh from off his side.
 * And threw it in the scale.

While women's cries smote on the skies
 * With loud lament and wail.

He hacked the flesh from side and arm,
 * From chest and back and thigh,

But still above the little dove
 * The monarch's scale stood high.

He heaped the scale with piles of flesh.
 * With sinews, blood, and skin.

And when alone was left him bone
 * He threw himself therein.