The royal feast was done the king
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried:
“Sir Fool, kneel now, and make for us a prayer!”

The jester doffed his cap and bells,
And stood the mocking court before:
They could not see the bitter smile
Behind the painted grin he wore.

He bowed his head and bent his knee
Upon the monarch’s silken stool
His pleading voice arose
“Oh Lord be merciful to me, a fool!

No pity, Lord, could change the heart
From red with wrong to white as wool
The rod must heal the sin but, Lord
Be merciful to me, a fool!

‘Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
Of truth and right, Oh Lord we stay
‘Tis by our follies that so long
We hold the Earth from Heaven away.

These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
Go crushing blossoms without end
These hard well-meaning hands we trust
Among the heartstrings of a friend.

The ill-timed truth we might have kept-
Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
The word we had not sense to say-
Who knows how grandly it had rung?

Our faults no tenderness should ask,
The chastening stripes must cleanse the all
But for our blunders-oh, in shame
Before the eyes of heaven we fall.

Earth bears no balsam for mistakes
Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
That did his will; but thou, Oh Lord
Be merciful to me, a fool!”

The room was hushed; in silence rose
The King, and sought his garden cool,
And walked apart and murmured low,
“Be merciful to me, a fool!”

- – - written by Edward R. Sill

The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: “How have you done so much in your lifetime?”

He replied, “I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real.

While other people were saying, ‘You can’t do that, it isn’t possible,’ I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.” As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: “We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.”

They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.”

So please, don’t let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they are too impossible.

“Sing your song, dream your dreams, hope your hope and pray your prayer.”

No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.

When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.

If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.

Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato.

You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.

Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tic tac.

Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.

School lunches stick to the wall.

You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

The best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma’s lap.