by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)
The Haughty Snail‑king
Language: English
(What Uncle William told the Children) Twelve snails went walking after night. They'd creep an inch or so, Then stop and bug their eyes And blow. Some folks . . . are . . . deadly . . . slow. Twelve snails went walking yestereve, Led by their fat old king. They were so dull their princeling had No sceptre, robe or ring -- Only a paper cap to wear When nightly journeying. This king-snail said: "I feel a thought Within. . . . It blossoms soon. . . . O little courtiers of mine, . . . I crave a pretty boon. . . . Oh, yes . . . (High thoughts with effort come And well-bred snails are ALMOST dumb.) "I wish I had a yellow crown As glistering . . . as . . . the moon."
Text Authorship:
- by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931), "The Haughty Snail-king", appears in The Congo and Other Poems, in 4. Fourth Section: Twenty Poems in which the Moon is the Principal Figure of Speech, in 1. First Section: Moon Poems for the Children/Fairy-tales for the Children, no. 2 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), "The Haughty Snail-king", 1998, first performed 1998 [voice and piano], from Songs to the Moon, Part 1: "Fairy-Tales for the Children", no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-13
Line count: 20
Word count: 140