tle awry;--for I must mention
That he had riveted his attention
Upon his wonderful invention,
Twisting his tongue as he twisted the strings,
And working his face as he worked the wings, 25
And with every turn of gimlet and screw
Turning and screwing his mouth round too,
Till his nose seemed bent
To catch the scent,
Around some corner, of new-baked pies,
And his wrinkled cheeks and squinting eyes 5
Grew puckered into a queer grimace,
That made him look very droll in the face,
And also very wise.

And wise he must have been, to do more
Than ever a genius did before, 10
Excepting Daedalus of yore,
And his son Icarus, who wore
Upon their backs
Those wings of wax
He had read of in the old almanacs. 15
Darius was clearly of the opinion,
That the air was also man's dominion,
And that, with paddle or fin or pinion,
We soon or late
Shall navigate 20
The azure as now we sail the sea.
The thing looks simple enough to me;
And if you doubt it,
Hear how Darius reasoned about it:

"The birds can fly, 25
An' why can't I?
Must we give in,"
Says he with a grin,
"That the bluebird an' phoebe
Are smarter 'n we be? 30
Jest fold our hands an' see the swaller
An' blackbird an' catbird beat us holler?
Does the leetle chatterin', sassy wren,
No bigger'n my thumb, know more than men?
Jest show me that 5
Er prove 't the bat
Hez got more brains than's in my hat,
An' I'll back down, an' not till then!"

He argued further: "Ner I can't see
What's th' use o' wings to a bumblebee 10
Fer to git a livin' with, more'n to me;
Ain't my business
Importanter'n his'n is?
That Icarus
Made a perty muss-- 15
Him an' his daddy Daedalus.
They might 'a' knowed wings made o' wax
Wouldn't stan' sun heat an' hard whacks:
I'll make mine o' luther,