Oh, listen to my words,
And hear with me the wounded curlew moan—
Have mercy on the birds!
—Celia Thaxter.
THE GOLD AND SILVER SHIELD
In the olden times a British prince set up a statue to the goddess of Victory, at a point where four roads met. In her right hand she held a spear, and her left rested upon a shield. The outside of this shield was of gold, and the inside of silver, and on each side was an inscription.
The Gold and Silver Shield
It happened one day that two knights—one in black armor, the other in white—arrived at the same time, but from opposite directions, at the statue. As neither of them had seen it before, they stopped to examine the beautiful workmanship and read the inscription.