THE BEGGAR (faintly). I—I do not understand.
THE KING. I said, do not beg any more.
THE BEGGAR. I—I do not understand.
THE SERVANT (aside to THE BEGGAR). The king has commanded thee not to beg for bread any more. The noise of thy voice is as garbage in his ears.
THE KING (to THE SERVANT). Ha! An excellent flower of speech. Pin it in thy buttonhole. (To THE BEGGAR) Thine ears, I see, are in need of a bath even more than thy body. I said, Do not beg any more.
THE BEGGAR. I—I do not understand.
THE KING (making a trumpet of his hands and shouting). DO NOT
BEG ANY MORE.
THE BEGGAR. I—I do not understand.
THE KING. Heavens! He is deafer than a stone wall.
THE SERVANT. O king, he cannot be deaf, for he understood me quite easily when I spoke to him in the street.