Queen Guinevere,
Three sleek and silent cats
Bring you gifts from me. The first is a grey one,
(I wanted a white one,
I could not find one snowy white enough,
Queen Guinevere, )
He brings you purple grapes. The second is a grey one,
(I wanted a sleek one,
Where could I find one sleek enough
Queen Guinevere?)
He brings you a red apple. The third one, too, is grey.
(I wanted a black one,
Not Hate itself could find one black enough,
Queen Guinevere, )
He brings you poison toadstools. I send you three grey cats with gifts--
(For uniformity of metaphor,
Since Bacchus, Satan, and the Hangman
Are not contemporaneous in my mythology)
I send you three grey cats with gifts,
Queen Guinevere,
To warn you, sleekly, silently
To pay the forfeit.