"But, dear madam," said he, "you are dining, I see;
On that subject I'd ask your advice;
Pray, ma'am, now can you tell, where provisions they sell,
That are not an extravagant price?
"Bread and meat are so dear, and have been for a year,
That poor people can scarcely endure it,
And then cheese is so high, that such beggars as I,
Till it falls, cannot hope to procure it."
But the ill-behaved bird did not utter a word,
Still intent on retaining her plunder;