The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe Household Edition : with illustrations |
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THE ROSE AND THE FAIRY.
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 | The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe |  |
THE ROSE AND THE FAIRY.
AN ORIENTAL TALE.
And tiny Fairy, of the sort
Who love in flowery fields to sport,
One dewy eve espied a Rose
So fair and fragrant, straight he goes
And nestles in her bosom; dips
Deep in her leaves his elfin lips,
And sucks the virgin honey thence;
Regaling thus his dainty sense
Of taste and odor rare, until
The Sybarite has drunk his fill!
“Sweet blossom!” sighed the grateful Fay,
“Thy bounty I would fain repay.
The fairest flowers that deck the field
Or garden, all to thee must yield
In loveliness; but that the Queen
Among her subjects may be seen
E'en in the dark and envious night
(That hides thy beauty from the sight),
This little Lantern shall be thine
To show, at night, thy form divine!”
With modest thanks the Rose receives
The Glow-worm's light upon her leaves,
Then turns to list a thrilling lay
That witched her maiden heart away!
For Philomela filled the grove,
Just then, with such a song of love
For “Rosa, fairest of the fair,”
The maid was won, ere half aware
The singer, while he bent to bless
The trembler with a soft caress,
Had snatched her lamp,—the rogue! and gone
And left her in the dark—alone!
Who love in flowery fields to sport,
One dewy eve espied a Rose
So fair and fragrant, straight he goes
And nestles in her bosom; dips
Deep in her leaves his elfin lips,
And sucks the virgin honey thence;
Regaling thus his dainty sense
Of taste and odor rare, until
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“Sweet blossom!” sighed the grateful Fay,
“Thy bounty I would fain repay.
The fairest flowers that deck the field
Or garden, all to thee must yield
In loveliness; but that the Queen
Among her subjects may be seen
E'en in the dark and envious night
(That hides thy beauty from the sight),
This little Lantern shall be thine
To show, at night, thy form divine!”
With modest thanks the Rose receives
The Glow-worm's light upon her leaves,
Then turns to list a thrilling lay
That witched her maiden heart away!
For Philomela filled the grove,
Just then, with such a song of love
For “Rosa, fairest of the fair,”
The maid was won, ere half aware
The singer, while he bent to bless
The trembler with a soft caress,
Had snatched her lamp,—the rogue! and gone
And left her in the dark—alone!
L'ENVOI.
The Glow-worm lantern (we are toldBy wise expositors) is gold;
Which serves to set in fairest light
The charms that else were lost to sight.
Moreover, it is plain to see
The cunning Nightingale is he,
The smooth-tongued knave, whose wicked art
For lucre cheats the loving heart,
That, like poor Rose, is doomed to prove
How Craft may feign the voice of Love!
| The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | |