JELOM: When I was but a little lad, I proved so well observant,
My parents sought to send me off, to be a mage's servant.
There was a mage of great renown, who'd done them favors plenty,
So I was sent to work for him 'till I was one and twenty.
The mage, though wise, was growing old, his hearing rather
last rate -
And so it seemed he heard me wrong when I said he could cast
straight.
He seemed surprised, but took me in, and after but a fast wait,
The knife came out, and with a shout, I found myself a castrate!
The accident, it was well meant, though soon my clothes fit tighter,
I learned to serve with excess verve, and even as a fighter.
So now I've learned - and tossed and turned - to make myself
a master,
Of scarves and wraps, and bags with flaps, for foes to cause
disaster.
A life not bad, for a stalwart lad, the Goddess thus did send me,
As not-a-man, I need not plan for women to defend me.
And so I came to a sort of fame, as a quintessential servant,
To set a place with the utmost grace, there is no one more fervent;
Or to twist and wrap, in my clothing's trap, and move at
such a fast rate,
Which I'd not have learned, had I not been turned, an
accidental castrate!