Classic Poem

[Enter the King, Segasto, the Shepherd, and the Clown,
with others.]

KING.
Shepherd, thou hast heard thin accusers;
Murther is laid to thy charge.
What canst thou say? thou hast deserved death.


MUCEDORUS.
Dread sovereign, I must needs confess,
I slew this captain in mine own defence,
Not of any malice, but by chance;
But mine accuser hath a further meaning.

SEGASTO.
Words will not here prevail,
I seek for justice, & justice craves his death.

KING.
Shepherd, thine own confession hath condemned thee.
Sirra, take him away, 7 do him to execution straight.

MOUSE.
So he shall, I warrant him; but do you hear, master
King, he is kin to a monkey, his neck is bigger than
his head.

SEGASTO.
Come, sirra, away with him, and hang him about the
middle.

MOUSE.
Yes, forsooth, I warrant you: come on, sir. A, so like
a sheep biter a looks!

[Enter Amadine and a boy with a bear's head.]

AMADINE.
Dread sovereign and wellbeloved sire,
On bended knees I crave the life of this
Condemned shepherd, which heretofore preserved
The life of thy sometime distressed daughter.

KING.
Preserved the life of my sometime distress daughter?
How can that be? I never knew the time
Wherein thou wast distressed; I never knew the day
But that I have maintained thy state,
As best beseemed the daughter of a king.
I never saw the shepherd until now.
How comes it, then, that he preserved thy life?

AMADINE.
Once walking with Segasto in the woods,
Further than our accustomed manner was,
Right before us, down a steep fall hill,
A monstrous ugly bear doth hie him fast
To meet us both: now whether this be true,
I refer it to the credit of Segasto.

SEGASTO.
Most true, and like your majesty.

KING.
How then?

AMADINE.
The bear, being eager to obtain his prey,
Made forward to us with an open mouth,
As if he meant to swallow us both at once;
The sight whereof did make us both to dread,
But specially your daughter Amadine,
Who, for I saw no succour incident
But in Segasto's valour, I grew desperate,
And he most cowardlike began to fly--
Left me distressed to be devoured of him.
How say you, Segasto, is it not true?

KING.
His silence verifies it to be true. What then?

AMADINE.
Then I amazed, distressed, all alone,
Did hie me fast to scape that ugly bear,
But all in vain, for, why, he reached after me,
And hardly I did oft escape his paws,
Till at the length this shepherd came,
And brought to me his head.
Come hither boy: lo, here it is,
Which I present unto your majesty.

KING.
The slaughter of this bear deserves great fame.

SEGASTO.
The slaughter of a man deserves great blame.

KING.
Indeed occasion oftentimes so falls out.


SEGASTO.
Tremelio in the wars, O King, preserved thee.

AMADINE.
The shepherd in the woods, o king, preserved me.

SEGASTO.
Tremelio fought when many men did yield.

AMADINE.
So would the shepherd, had he been in field.

MOUSE.
So would my master, had he not run away.

SEGASTO.
Tremelio's force saved thousands from the foe.

AMADINE.
The shepherd's force would have saved thousands more.

MOUSE.
Aye, shipsticks, nothing else.

KING.
Segasto, cease to accuse the shepherd,
His worthiness deserves a recompense,
All we are bound to do the shepherd good:
Shepherd, whereas it was my sentence, thou shouldst die,
So shall my sentence stand, for thou shalt die.

SEGASTO.
Thanks to your majesty.

KING.
But soft, Segasto, not for this offence.--
Long maist thou live, and when the sisters shall decree
to cut in twain the twisted thread of life,
Then let him die: for this I set thee free:
And for thy valour I will honour thee.

MUCEDORUS.
Thanks to your majesty.

KING.
Come, daughter, let us now depart, to honour the
worthy valour of the shepherd with our rewards.

[Exeunt.]

MOUSE.
O master, hear you, you have made a fresh hand
now you would be slow, you; why, what will you
do now? you have lost me a good occupation by
the means. Faith, master, now I cannot hang the
shepherd, I pray you, let me take the pains to hang
you: it is but half an hour's exercise.

SEGASTO.
You are still in your knavery, but sith a I cannot
have his life I will procure his banishment for ever.
Come one, sirra.

MOUSE.
Yes, forsooth, I come.--Laugh at him, I pray you.

[Exeunt.]