The ultimate trap

My Fairy

I have a fairy by my side
Which says I must not sleep.
When once in pain I loudly cried
It said “You must not weep”.

If, full of mirth, I smile and grin,
It says “You must not laugh”;
When once I wished to drink some gin
It said “You must not quaff”.

When once a meal I wished to taste
It said “You must not bite”;
When to the wars I went in haste
It said “You must not fight”.

“What may I do?” at length I cried,
Tired of the painful task.
The fairy quietly replied,
And said “You must not ask”.

Moral: “You mustn’t”.

Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832–1898)

Written in 1845; published 1932


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