The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe Household Edition : with illustrations |
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THE BRAHMIN'S AIR-CASTLE.
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 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
THE BRAHMIN'S AIR-CASTLE.
A HINDOO FABLE.
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.
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 toldBy 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!”
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |