St. Peter, standing on duty there,

Observed that the top of his head was bare.

He called the gentleman back and said,

“Friend, how long have you been wed?”

“Thirty years” (with a weary sigh),

And then he thoughtfully added, “Why?”

St. Peter was silent. With head bent down

He raised his hand and scratched his crown;

Then, seeming a different thought to take,

Slowly, half to himself, he spake: