Classic Poem

I STOPPED at an inn one day to dine,
The host was a generous fellow,
A golden apple, for a sign,
Hung out on a branch, so mellow.

It was the good old apple-tree
Himself so nobly dined me;
Sweet fare and sparkling juices he
Was pleased and proud to find me.

To his green house came many a guest,
Light-winged and light-hearted,
They sang their best, they ate his best,
Then up they sprang and departed.

I found a bed to rest my head —
A bed of soft, green clover;
The host a great cool shadow spread,
For a quilt, and covered me over.

I asked him what I had to pay —
I saw his head shake slightly, —
Oh, blest be he, for ever and aye,
Who treated me so politely!