A Fairy Tale
Some three-score years and ten agoA prince was born at Florida, Mo.;And though he came incognito,With just the usual yells of woe,The watchful fairies seemed to knowPrecisely what the row meant;For when he was but five days old,(December fifth as I've been told,)They pattered through the midnight cold,And came around his crib, to holdA "Council of Endowment."
"I give him Wit," the eldest said,And stooped above the little bed,To touch his forehead round and red."Within this bald, unfurnished head,Where wild luxuriant locks shall spreadAnd wave in years hereafter,I kindle now the lively spark,That still shall flash by day and dark,And everywhere he goes shall markHis way with light and laughter."
The fairies laughed to think of itThat such a rosy, wrinkled bitOf flesh should be endowed with Wit!But something serious seemed to hitThe mind of one, as if a fitOf fear had come upon her."I give him Truth," she quickly cried,"That laughter may not lead asideTo paths where scorn and falsehood hide,--I give him Truth and Honour!"
"I give him Love," exclaimed the third;And as she breathed the mystic word,I know not if the baby heard,But softly in his dream he stirred,And twittered like a little bird,And stretched his hands above him.The fairy's gift was sealed and signedWith kisses twain the deed to bind:"A heart of love to human-kind,And human-kind to love him!"
"Now stay your giving!" cried the Queen."These gifts are passing rich I ween;And if reporters should be meanEnough to spy upon this scene,'Twould make all other babies greenWith envy at the rumour.Yet since I love this child, forsooth,I'll mix your gifts, Wit, Love and Truth,With spirits of Immortal Youth,And call the mixture Humour!"
The fairies vanished with their glittering train;But here's the Prince with all their gifts,--Mark Twain.
Words in this poem
- incognito a.
- Without being known; in disguise; in an assumed character, or under an assumed title; -- said esp. of great personages who sometimes adopt a disguise or an assumed character in order to avoid notice. [It. incognito, masc., incognita, fem., L. incognitus unknown; pref. in- not + cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere: cf. F. incognito, fr. It. See Cognition.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Fairy Tale is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Henry Van Dyke, Project Gutenberg ebook #16229; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Van Dyke, A Fairy Tale, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/a-fairy-tale.html, id L22997.
Form and metre
A Fairy Tale is 53 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AAAAABCCCB, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA-AA-BBBB- agoA · moA · incognito · woeA · knowA · meant · oldB · toldB · coldB · holdB · endowment
- 2 AAAAABCCCB saidA · bedA · redA · headA · spreadA · hereafterB · sparkC · darkC · markC · laughterB
- 3 AAAAA-BBB- itA · bitA · witA · hitA · fitA · her · criedB · asideB · hideB · honour
- 4 AAAAABCCCB thirdA · wordA · heardA · stirredA · birdA · himB · signedC · bindC · kindC · himB
- 5 AAAAABCCCB queenA · weenA · meanA · sceneA · greenA · rumourB · forsoothC · truthC · youthC · humourB
- 6 AA trainA · twainA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Some three-score years and ten ago | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A prince was born at Florida, Mo.; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And though he came incognito, | 8 | ····˘˘/˘ |
| With just the usual yells of woe, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The watchful fairies seemed to know | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Precisely what the row meant; | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| For when he was but five days old, | 8 | ········ |
| (December fifth as I've been told,) | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| They pattered through the midnight cold, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| And came around his crib, to hold | 8 | ········ |
| A "Council of Endowment." | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| "I give him Wit," the eldest said, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And stooped above the little bed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To touch his forehead round and red. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "Within this bald, unfurnished head, | 8 | ········ |
| Where wild luxuriant locks shall spread | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And wave in years hereafter, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| I kindle now the lively spark, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That still shall flash by day and dark, | 8 | ········ |
| And everywhere he goes shall mark | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His way with light and laughter." | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The fairies laughed to think of it | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That such a rosy, wrinkled bit | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of flesh should be endowed with Wit! | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| But something serious seemed to hit | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The mind of one, as if a fit | 8 | ········ |
| Of fear had come upon her. | 7 | ······· |
| "I give him Truth," she quickly cried, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "That laughter may not lead aside | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To paths where scorn and falsehood hide,-- | 8 | ·····/·· |
| I give him Truth and Honour!" | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "I give him Love," exclaimed the third; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And as she breathed the mystic word, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I know not if the baby heard, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But softly in his dream he stirred, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And twittered like a little bird, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And stretched his hands above him. | 8 | ··˘····· |
| The fairy's gift was sealed and signed | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With kisses twain the deed to bind: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "A heart of love to human-kind, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And human-kind to love him!" | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| "Now stay your giving!" cried the Queen. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "These gifts are passing rich I ween; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And if reporters should be mean | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Enough to spy upon this scene, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| 'Twould make all other babies green | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With envy at the rumour. | 7 | ·/˘···˘ |
| Yet since I love this child, forsooth, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I'll mix your gifts, Wit, Love and Truth, | 8 | ········ |
| With spirits of Immortal Youth, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And call the mixture Humour!" | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The fairies vanished with their glittering train; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But here's the Prince with all their gifts,--Mark Twain. | 10 | ·········· |
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