"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 />Rabindranath Tagore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-last-bargain/
