His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch
The other read more

His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest,
Which his fair tongue, conceit's expositor,
Delivers in such apt and gracious words,
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished,
So sweet and voluble is his discourse.

This story will never go down.

This story will never go down.

In vain would I seek to discover
Why sad and mournful am I,
My thoughts without ceasing read more

In vain would I seek to discover
Why sad and mournful am I,
My thoughts without ceasing brood over
A tale of the time gone by.
[Ger., Ich weiss nicht was soll es bedeuten,
Dass ich so traurig bin:
Ein marchen aus alten Zeiten
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.]

With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men read more

With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner.

For seldom shall she hear a tale
So said, so tender, yet so true.

For seldom shall she hear a tale
So said, so tender, yet so true.

Soft as some song divine, thy story flows.

Soft as some song divine, thy story flows.

Out of their saddles into the dirt--and thereby hangs a tale.

Out of their saddles into the dirt--and thereby hangs a tale.

A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour!

A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour!

And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.

And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.