THE SERVANT. O great and illustrious king, thou wilt surely not do this thing. Thou wilt surely not soil thy royal eyes by looking on such a filthy creature. Thou wilt surely not contaminate thy lips by speaking to a common beggar who cries aloud in the streets for bread. THE KING. My ears have been soiled too much already. Therefore go now and do as I have commanded thee. THE SERVANT. O great and illustrious king, thou wilt surely not-- THE KING (_roaring at him_). I said, Go! (THE SERVANT, _abashed, goes out._) Forsooth, I fancy the fellow will stop his bawling when I order him to. Forsooth, I fancy he will be pretty well frightened when he hears that the king desires his presence. Ha, ha, ha, ha! THE SERVANT (_returning_). O king, here is the beggar. (_A shambling creature hung in filthy rags follows_ THE SERVANT _slowly into the royal chamber._) THE KING. Ha! A magnificent sight, to be sure. Art thou the beggar who has been crying aloud in the streets for bread? THE BEGGAR (_in a faint voice, after a slight pause_). Art thou the king? THE KING. I am the king. THE SERVANT (_aside to_ THE BEGGAR). It is not proper for a beggar to ask a question of a king. Speak only as thou art spoken to. THE KING (_to_ THE SERVANT). Do thou likewise. (_To_ THE BEGGAR) I have ordered thee here to speak to thee concerning a very grave matter. Thou art the beggar, I understand, who often cries aloud in the streets for bread. Now, the complaint of thy voice annoys me greatly. Therefore, do not beg any more. THE BEGGAR (_faintly_). I--I do not understand. THE KING. I said, do not beg any more. THE BEGGAR. I--I do not understand. THE SERVANT (_aside to_ THE BEGGAR). The king has commanded thee not to beg for bread any more. The noise of thy voice is as garbage in his ears. THE KING (_to_ THE SERVANT). Ha! An excellent flower of speech. Pin it in thy buttonhole. (_To_ THE BEGGAR) Thine ears, I see, are in need of a bath even more than thy body. I said, _Do not beg any more._ THE BEGGAR. I--I do not understand. THE KING (_making a trumpet of his hands and shouting_). _DO NOT BEG ANY MORE._ THE BEGGAR. I--I do not understand. THE KING. Heavens! He is deafer than a stone wall. THE SERVANT. O king, he cannot be deaf, for he understood me quite easily when I spoke to him in the street. THE KING (_to_ THE BEGGAR). Art thou deaf? Canst thou hear what I am saying to thee now? THE BEGGAR. Alas! I can hear every word perfectly. THE KING. Fft! The impudence. Thy tongue shall be cut out for this. THE SERVANT. O king, to cut out his tongue is useless, for he will grow another. THE KING. No matter. It shall be cut out anyway. (_To_ THE BEGGAR) I have ordered thee not to beg any more in the streets. What meanest thou by saying thou dost not understand? THE BEGGAR. The words of thy mouth I can hear perfectly. But their noise is only a foolish tinkling in my ears.