A fairy leapt upon my knee

A fairy leapt upon my knee
Singing and dancing merrily;
I said, 'Thou thing of patches, rings,
Pins, necklaces, and such-like things,

Disgracer of the female form,
Thou paltry, gilded, poisonous worm!'
Weeping, he fell upon my thigh,
And thus in tears did soft reply:

'Knowest thou not, O fairies' lord!
How much by us contemned, abhorred,
Whatever hides the female form
That cannot bear the mortal storm?

Therefore in pity still we give
Our lives to make the female live;
And what would turn into disease
We turn to what will joy and please.'