And up and down around the room he scattered curses, and he swore,
He cursed before, he cursed behind, he cursed until his face was red,
By dint of cursing, and at last he stripped, and tumbled into bed.
Next morning many oaths he made, and sandwiched them with many a curse,
That sounded weird, and wry, and strange; his oathings they could not possibly be worse.
He cursed because he had to rise, he cursed to leave the bed so nice,
And warm, and soft, he cursed because the water was as cold as ice.
He cursed around the basin-stand, he cursed the water jug, alas!
The towel and the soap he cursed, with oath that almost broke the glass.
He cursed a button that was loose, he cursed the thread and needle, new,