“‘May the blessing of God be with us all,’ ses I.
“‘Amen to that,’ ses he.
“‘Amen, amen!’ ses I.
“‘Would you mind telling me what day of the year is it, and what year of the century is it, if you please?’ ses he.
“‘I can easily tell you that,’ ses I, ‘but I couldn’t tell you the time of day if you were to make me as gay as a sprite, as blithe as a lark, and as nimble and fresh as a hare in the month of March. This is St. Crispin’s Day,’ ses I, ‘and every shoemaker in Christendom who knows how to enjoy himself will be as drunk as a lord before the sun goes down.’
“‘I wouldn’t blame them for getting drunk,’ ses he, ‘for hammering on the sole of a shoe from daylight to dark is no way for a man to enjoy himself. But now,’ ses he, ‘if you want to know the time of day, I can tell you that.’
“‘Of course, I’d like to know the time of day,’ ses I.
“‘All right,’ ses he, ‘come along.’ And then we walked to a sun-splashed glade, and he looked up at the sun itself, and turned to me, and ses, with the greatest gentleness: ‘’Tis just a quarter to twelve,’ ses he.
“‘That’s a wonderful clock you have,’ ses I.
“‘’Tis the most wonderful clock in all the world, and never once ran down since it was set a-going long ago before Adam was a boy,’ ses he.