The Lion's Court by Jean de La Fontaine — Read

His lion majesty would know, one day, / What bestial tribes were subject to his sway. / He therefore gave his vassals all, / By deputies a call, / Despatching everywhere / A written circular, / Which bore his seal, and did import / His majesty would hold his court / A month most splendidly; -- / A feast would open his levee, / Which done, Sir Jocko's sleight / Would give the court delight. / By such sublime magnificence / The king would show his power immense.

Now were they gather'd all / Within the royal hall. -- / And such a hall! The charnel scent / Would make the strongest nerves relent. / The bear put up his paw to close / The double access of his nose. / The act had better been omitted; / His throne at once the monarch quitted, / And sent to Pluto's court the bear, / To show his delicacy there. / The ape approved the cruel deed, / A thorough flatterer by breed. / He praised the prince's wrath and claws, / He praised the odour and its cause. / Judged by the fragrance of that cave, / The amber of the Baltic wave, / The rose, the pink, the hawthorn bank, / Might with the vulgar garlic rank. / The mark his flattery overshot, / And made him share poor Bruin's lot; / This lion playing in his way, / The part of Don Caligula. / The fox approach'd. 'Now,' said the king, / 'Apply your nostrils to this thing, / And let me hear, without disguise, / The judgment of a beast so wise. ' / The fox replied, 'Your Majesty will please / Excuse' -- and here he took good care to sneeze; -- / 'Afflicted with a dreadful cold, / Your majesty need not be told: / My sense of smell is mostly gone.'