 | Pepper & Salt, or Seasoning for Young Folk |  |
Three Fortunes
A merry young shoemaker,
And a tailor, and a baker,
Went to seek their fortunes, for they had been told,
Where a rainbow touched the ground,
(If it only could be found,)
Was a purse that should be always full of gold.
And a tailor, and a baker,
Went to seek their fortunes, for they had been told,
Where a rainbow touched the ground,
(If it only could be found,)
Was a purse that should be always full of gold.
So they traveled day by day,
In a jolly, jocund way
Till the shoemaker a pretty lass espied;
When quoth he, “It seems to me,
There can never, never be,
Better luck than this in all the world beside.”
In a jolly, jocund way
Till the shoemaker a pretty lass espied;
When quoth he, “It seems to me,
There can never, never be,
Better luck than this in all the world beside.”
So the others said good-bye,
And went on, till by-and-by
They espied a shady inn beside the way;
Where the Hostess fair,—a widow—
In a lone seclusion hid; “Oh,
Here is luck!” the tailor said; “and here I'll stay.”
And went on, till by-and-by
They espied a shady inn beside the way;
Where the Hostess fair,—a widow—
In a lone seclusion hid; “Oh,
Here is luck!” the tailor said; “and here I'll stay.”
So the baker jogged along,
All alone, wish ne'er a song,
Or a jest; and nothing tempted him to stay.
But he went from bad to worse,
For he never found the purse,
And for all I know he's wandering to this day.
All alone, wish ne'er a song,
Or a jest; and nothing tempted him to stay.
But he went from bad to worse,
For he never found the purse,
And for all I know he's wandering to this day.
It is better, on the whole,
For an ordinary soul,
(So I gather from this song I've tried to sing,)
For to take the luck that may
Chance to fall within his way,
Than to toil for an imaginary thing.
For an ordinary soul,
(So I gather from this song I've tried to sing,)
For to take the luck that may
Chance to fall within his way,
Than to toil for an imaginary thing.
H. Pyle.
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