defined
- Beg
- v. To ask for something with an earnestness proportioned to the belief that it will not be given.
- Who is that, father? A mendicant, child, Haggard, morose, and unaffable — wild! See how he glares through the bars of his cell! With Citizen Mendicant all is not well.
- Why did they put him there, father?
- Because Obeying his belly he struck at the laws.
- His belly?
- Oh, well, he was starving, my boy — A state in which, doubtless, there’s little of joy. No bite had he eaten for days, and his cry Was “Bread!” ever “Bread!”
- What’s the matter with pie?
- With little to wear, he had nothing to sell; To beg was unlawful — improper as well.
- Why didn’t he work?
- He would even have done that, But men said: “Get out!” and the State remarked: “Scat!” I mention these incidents merely to show That the vengeance he took was uncommonly low. Revenge, at the best, is the act of a Siou, But for trifles —
- Pray what did bad Mendicant do?
- Stole two loaves of bread to replenish his lack And tuck out the belly that clung to his back.
- Is that all father dear?
- There’s little to tell: They sent him to jail, and they’ll send him to — well, The company’s better than here we can boast, And there’s —
- Bread for the needy, dear father?
- Um — toast.
- Atka Mip