A homely woman smiled at a man. And the man, puzzled and speculating what was wrong with him, slouched on.
A pretty woman smiled at a man. And the man, with the mien of a cock, threw out his chest and strutted on.
LVI
THE ACTOR
A poet, poor and neglected, lived up under the dusty eaves, with for sole companion a parrot. One day, the poet evolved a particularly lovely line and, in his happiness, repeated it to himself aloud, and time upon time.
A week later, some portly persons, passing beneath the lofty window, espied the parrot perched upon the sill and heard it speak the poet's line. Breathless with amazement, they stopped and cried out: "What a wonderful bird!"