"Come and hire me," I cried, while in the morning I was walking on the stone-paved road. <br />Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot. <br />He held my hand and said, "I will hire you with my power." <br />But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his chariot. <br /> <br />In the heat of the midday the houses stood with shut doors. <br />I wandered along the crooked lane. <br />An old man came out with his bag of gold. <br />He pondered and said, "I will hire you with my money." <br />He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away. <br /> <br />It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower. <br />The fair maid came out and said, "I will hire you with a smile." <br />Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark. <br /> <br />The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly. <br />A child sat playing with shells. <br />He raised his head and seemed to know me, and said, "I hire you with nothing." <br />From thenceforward that bargain struck in child's play made me a free man.<br /><br />Sir Rabindranath Tagore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-last-bargain-2/
