A 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! L'ENVOI. The Glow-worm lantern (we are told By 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! |