Give me thy counsel, aged wight;
For here the hawk doth prowl by day,
And many a cruel owl by night—
Seeking on little birds to prey.
Oh, tell me how these things to shun,
Or teach me where to find some zone,
Beneath a far-off southern sun,
Where hawks and owls are all unknown.”
Thus urged, the old monk spake: “Sweet thing,
I love to list thy pretty words,