Three Fortunes

A merry young shoemaker, And a tailor, and a baker, Went to seek their fortunes, for they had been told, Where a rainbow touched the ground, (If it only could be found,) Was a purse that should be always full of gold.

So they traveled day by day, In a jolly, jocund way Till the shoemaker a pretty lass espied; When quoth he, "It seems to me, There can never, never be, Better luck than this in all the world beside."

So the others said good-bye, And went on, till by-and-by They espied a shady inn beside the way; Where the Hostess fair,--a widow-- In a lone seclusion hid; "Oh, Here is luck!" the tailor said, "and here I'll stay."

So the baker jogged along, All alone, with ne'er a song, Or a jest; and nothing tempted him to stay. But he went from bad to worse, For he never found the purse, And for all I know he is wandering to this day.

It is better, on the whole, For an ordinary soul, (So I gather from this song I've tried to sing,) For to take the luck that may Chance to fall within his way, Than to toil for an imaginary thing.

H. Pyle