Cordula's Web. Flickr. Angry Meerkat, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs.
Flickr. Angry Meerkat, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs. mjmyap. Gallery 42
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The Refusal

Edith Nesbit

Mine is a palace fair to see,
All hung with gold and silver things,
It is more glorious than a king's,
And crownèd queens might envy me.

Ah, no, I will not let you in!
Stay rather at the gates and weep
For all the splendour that I keep,
The treasures that you cannot win.

While you desire and I refuse,
For both the palace still is here,
Its turrets gold, its silver gear
Are yours to wish for, mine to use.

But if I let you in, I know
The spell would break, the palace fade,
And we stand, trembling and afraid,
Lost in the dark where chill winds blow.

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