Gallinae Filius albae

Sir Cock, to you I yield the prize;
Right valiant are you, as I oft have witnessed with these eyes.
O'er all your wives—and they are not a few—you hold a sovereign sway.
I'm blest with but a single wife,
And she has robbed me of my wits and spoilt all joy in life;
She's mistress in the house, and scolds me if I grow a little gay.
If I had two, then were my laughter finished!
If I had four, my cheer were sore diminished;
If I had eight, how could I 'scape perdition?
They would devour me on the spot.
Sir Cock, yours is a blessed lot:
A dozen hens you keep in full submission!