,
"'Tis the safest place in Germany;
The walls are high, and the shores are steep,
And the stream is strong, and the water deep."

Bishop Hatto fearfully hastened away,
And he crossed the Rhine without delay,
And reached his tower, and barred with care
All the windows, doors, and loopholes there.

He laid him down and closed his eyes;
But soon a scream made him arise.
He started, and saw two eyes of flame
On his pillow, from whence the screaming came.

He listened and looked: it was only the cat:
But the bishop he grew more fearful for that;
For she sat screaming, mad with fear
At the army of rats that were drawing near.

For they have swum over the river so deep,
And they have climbed the shores so steep,
And now by thousands up they crawl
To the holes and windows in the wall.

Down on his knees the bishop fell,
And faster and faster his beads did he tell,
As louder and louder, drawing near,
The saw of their teeth without he could hear.

And in at the windows, and in at the door,
And through the walls by thousands they pour,
And down through the ceiling and up through the floor,
From the right and the left, from behind and before,
From within and without, from above and below;
And all at once at the bishop they go.

They have whetted their teeth against the stones,
And now they pick the bishop's bones;
They gnawed the flesh from every limb,
For they were sent to do judgment on him.

"I'm glad they ate him up," said Minnie, as soon as Mr. George had
finished reading the poetry. "I am very glad indeed."

"Yes," said Rollo, "so am I."

"What a pleasant ride this is!" said Rollo, after a little pause. It
was, indeed, a delightful ride. The road was carried along the bank of
the river a short distance above the level of the water. It was very
hard, and smooth, and level; and on the side of it opposite to the
water, the land rose abruptly in a steep ascent, which was covered with
forest trees. At the distance of about a mile before them, down the
river, they could see the towers and battlements of the castle which
they were going to visit, rising among the tops of the trees, on a
projecting promontory.

"I like the ride very much," said Rollo; "but I don't care much about
the castle. I'm tired of castles."

"So am I," said Mr. George; "but this is different from the rest.