"Murder will surely out!

"Where shall I go? What shall I do?
I'm caught--I am a sinner!
My wife, good soul--my wife has brought
The parson home to dinner!"

And with a little spice of wit,
To which he was inclined,
Though none to spare the deacon had,
He thus relieved his mind:

"I've often heard the preacher say
That good may come of evil;
Still every hour, with all our might,
We must resist the devil.

"If horn and hoof be any proof,
And if the foot be riven,
Surely I am the very man
That with the beast has striven!"

Now hurried steps without are heard,
And earnest voices blend;
"I'm in a vice," the deacon groans--
"When will this torture end?"

Young Peter, being first within,
For he had run ahead,
Loudly exclaims, "Another bull
Lies in the parlor, dead!"

They enter all, with hands upraised
And faces filled with wonder--
There stood confessed the deacon's case,
And all were struck with thunder.

The tale flew quickly round, and woke
Much pity and more laughter;
But not a word the deacon spoke
Of his two bulls thereafter.

Listen! listen to my song,
There is meaning in it;
You may know it sha'nt be long--
Only half a minute.

Have you ever read the tale--
Have you heard the story--
How two bulls together fought
On the field of glory?

And how a famous hero
Thought it was so cunning,
How he became a master
Of the art of running?

And how he was so frightened,
In getting up the stairs;
And how he heard the breaking
Of all his china-wares?

And how his heart was swelling
Up like a pot of yeast;
And how he took a rifle,
And fired it at the beast?

And how the parish preacher
Had heard that he was sick,
And losing not a moment,
Did come to see him quick?

And how the rumor flourished,
'Mongst people young and old,
And how they sighed, and how they laughed
To hear the story told?

If you have read, remember
The moral of this book--
Whoever takes the devil's bait,
Is sure to feel the hook.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of the Two Bulls, by John R. Bolles

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE TWO BULLS ***

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