tress?" "My friend," said Spot, "there is no time for delay. Listen to me.
When life is near an end,
The presence of a friend
Brings happiness, allying
The living with the dying.
Oh, pardon any expressions of friendly impatience I may have used in our discussions. Likewise, say to Gold and Slow in my name:
If any ugly word
Was willy-nilly heard,
I pray you both, forgive—
Let only friendship live."
On hearing this, Swift replied: "Feel no fear, my dear fellow, while you have friends like us. I will return with all speed, bringing Gold to cut your bonds."
Thereupon, with his heart in a flutter, he found Slow and Gold, explained the nature of Spot's captivity, then returned to Spot, carrying Gold in his beak. Gold, for his part, on seeing the plight of his friend, sorrowfully said: "My dear fellow, you always had a wary mind and a shrewd eye. How, then, did you fall into this dreadful captivity?"
And Spot rejoined: "Why ask, my friend? Fate, you know, does what it will. As the saying goes:
What mortal flies
(However wise)
When billows rise
To fatal size
On seas of woe?
