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THE GARDENER


Servant

Make me the gardener of your flower garden.

Queen

What folly is this?

Servant

I will give up my other work.

I throw my swords and lances down in the dust. Do no send me to distant courts; do not bid me undertake new conquests. But make me the gardener of your flower garden.

Queen

What will your duties be?

Servant

The service of your idle days.

I will keep fresh the grassy path where you walk in the morning, where your feet will be greeted with praise at every step by the flowers eager for death.