'Beat him till his back is blue, ' <br />Said Arnold Thomas with a grin; <br />'If two and two is twenty-two <br />Then stealing is a mortal sin; <br />Proverbs thirteen, twenty-four <br />Is good as anything you know, <br />So beat him till his back is blue; <br /> <br />'For little boys with playful ways <br />May lose themselves in Satan's maze <br />And never find their way out till <br />They're beaten and the blood doth spill, <br />Freeing them of fiery fumes <br />That burn from nasty witches' brooms; <br />Let all the gleams of she-cats' eyes <br />Fade far away with every blow; <br />Likewise the crooked tales and lies, <br />Until the beaten back is sore: <br /> <br />'Then you may (but better not) <br />Pour some brandy down his throat, <br />Some salad-oil on his wounds <br />To alleviate the twinge of pain; <br />But if he tries to fake a swoon <br />Get up and beat him blue again.'<br /><br />Tan Pratonix<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/crime-and-punishment-in-the-dark-ages/
