15 STORY OF THE FLOWERY KINGDOM

Fair Sou-Chong-Tee, by a shimmering brook Where ghost-like lilies loomed tall and straight, Met young Too-Hi, in a moonlit nook, Where they cooed and kissed till the hour was late: Then, with lanterns, a mandarin passed in state, Named Hoo-Hung-Hoo of the Golden Band, Who had wooed the maiden to be his mate,— For these things occur in the Flowery Land. Now, Hoo-Hung-Hoo had written a book, In seven volumes, to celebrate The death of the Emperor’s thirteenth cook: So, being a person whose power was great, He ordered a herald to indicate He would blind Too-Hi with a red-hot brand And marry Sou-Chong at a quarter-past-eight,— For these things occur in the Flowery Land. Whilst the brand was heating, the lovers shook In their several shoes,—when by lucky fate A Dragon came, with his tail in a crook,— A Dragon out of a Nankeen Plate,— And gobbled the hard-hearted potentate And all of his servants, and snorted, and Passed on at a super-cyclonic rate,— For these things occur in the Flowery Land. The lovers were wed at an early date, And lived for the future, I understand, In one continuous tête-à-tête,— For these things occur ... in the Flowery Land.