“And canst thou live on this meagre pay?”—
“Like a king,” he said with pride.
“Two groschen for me and my wife, good friend,
And two for a debt I owe;
Two groschen to lend and two to spend
For those who can’t labor, you know.”
“Thy debt?” said the king. Said the toiler, “Yea,
To my mother with age oppressed,
Who cared for me, toiled for me, many a day,
And now hath need of rest.”