To earth by the laws of attraction he flew,

And he fell, and he fell,

To the regions of hell;

Nine centuries bounced he from cavern to rock,

And his head, as he tumbled, went nickety-nock,

Like a pebble in Carisbrooke well.

Now Veeshnoo turn'd round to a capering varlet,

Array'd in blue and white and scarlet,

And cried, "Oh! brown of slipper as of hat!

Lend me, harlequin, thy bat!"