The Hesperides & Noble Numbers/Hesperides/The Present; or, the Bag of the Bee
248. THE PRESENT; OR, THE BAG OF THE BEE.
Fly to my mistress, pretty pilfering bee,
And say thou bring'st this honey bag from me:
When on her lip thou hast thy sweet dew placed,
Mark if her tongue but slyly steal a taste.
If so, we live; if not, with mournful hum
Toll forth my death; next, to my burial come.