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WHAT BECAME OF A LIE

“First somebody told it,
Then the room wouldn’t hold it,
So the busy tongues rolled it
Till they got it outside.
When the crowd came across it
They onward did toss it,
Till it grew long and wide.
From a very small lie, Sir,
It grew deep and high, Sir,
Till it reached the sky, Sir,
And frightened the moon;
For she hid her face, Sir,
At the dreadful disgrace, Sir,
That happened at noon.

“This lie brought forth others,
Dark sisters and brothers,
And fathers and mothers
A terrible crew.
And while headlong they hurried,
The people they flurried,
And troubled and worried
As lies always do.
And so evil boded,
This monstrous lie goaded,
Till at last it exploded
In smoke and in shame.
While from mud and from mire
The pieces flew higher,
And hit the sad liar,
And killed his good name.”

—Mrs. M. A. Kidder in Jewish Gazette.

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— July 15, 1898 —