| Two goats once blocked a mountain pass Contending o'er a tuft of grass. Important messages of state Forbade me there to stand and wait; Without a pause, the pair I neared And seized the larger by the beard; I dragged him from his panting foe And hurled him to the plain below." |
| "For clubs," a second answered there, "Or heavy weights I little care; Let those by generous nature planned At heavy lifting try their hand; But give me bar or give me ring, Where I can turn, contort, and swing, And I'll outdo, with movements fine, The monkey on his tropic vine." |
Thus skill and strength and wind they tried
By means they found on every side.
| Some claimed at once the high trapeze, And there performed with grace and ease; They turned and tumbled left and right, As though they held existence light. At times a finger-tip was all Between them and a fearful fall. On strength of toes they now depend, Or now on coat-tails of a friend— And had that cloth been less than best That looms could furnish, east or west, Some members of the Brownie race Might now be missing from their place |
But fear, we know, scarce ever finds A home within their active minds. And little danger they could see In what would trouble you or me. Some stood to prove their muscle strong, And swung the clubs both large and long That men who met to practice there Had often found no light affair. A rope they found as 'round they ran, And then a "tug-of-war" began; First over benches, stools, and chairs, Then up and down the winding stairs, They pulled and hauled and tugged around, Now giving up, now gaining ground, Some lost their footing at the go, And on their backs slid to and fro Without a chance their state to mend Until the contest found an end. Their coats from tail to collar rent Showed some through trying treatment went, And more, with usage much the same, All twisted out of shape, and lame, Had scarce a button to their name. |
