The Cliff

'Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,

Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;

But over its terrible edge there had slipped

A duke and full many a peasant.

The people said something would have to be done,

But their projects did not at all tally.

Some said, "Put a fence 'round the edge of the cliff,"

Some, "An ambulance down in the valley."

The lament of the crowd was profound and was loud,

As their hearts overflowed with their pity;

But the cry for the ambulance carried the day

As it spread through the neighboring city.

A collection was made to accumulate aid,

And the dwellers in highway and alley

Gave dollars and cents -not to furnish a fence-

But an ambulance down in the valley.

"For the cliff is alright if you're careful," they said;

"And if folks ever slip and are dropping,

It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much

As the shock down below -when they're stopping."

So for years (we have heard), as these mishaps occurred

Quick forth would the rescuers sally,

To pick up the victims who fell from the cliff

With the ambulance down in the valley.

Said one, to his plea, "It's a marvel to me

That you'd give so much greater attention

To repairing results than to curing the cause;

You had much better aim at prevention.

For the mischief, of course, should be stopped at its source,

Come, neighbors and friends, let us rally.

It is far better sense to rely on a fence

Than an ambulance down in the valley."

"He is wrong in his head," the majority said;

"He would end all our earnest endeavor,

He's a man who would shirk this responsible work,

But we will support it forever.

Aren't we picking up all just as fast as they fall

And giving them care liberally?

A superfluous fence is of no consequence,

If the ambulance works in the valley.

The story looks que-er* as we've written it here,

But things oft occur that are stranger.

More humane, we assert, than to succor the hurt,

Is the plan of removing the danger.

The best possible course is to safeguard the source,

Attend to things rationally.

Yes, build up the fence, and let us dispense