Definition of Immodest

  There was once a man in Ispahan
      Ever and ever so long ago,
  And he had a head, the phrenologists said,
      That fitted him for a show.

  For his modesty's bump was so large a lump
      (Nature, they said, had taken a freak)
  That its summit stood far above the wood
      Of his hair, like a mountain peak.

  So modest a man in all Ispahan,
      Over and over again they swore --
  So humble and meek, you would vainly seek;
      None ever was found before.

  Meantime the hump of that awful bump
      Into the heavens contrived to get
  To so great a height that they called the wight
      The man with the minaret.

  There wasn't a man in all Ispahan
      Prouder, or louder in praise of his chump:
  With a tireless tongue and a brazen lung
      He bragged of that beautiful bump

  Till the Shah in a rage sent a trusty page
      Bearing a sack and a bow-string too,
  And that gentle child explained as he smiled:
      'A little present for you.'

  The saddest man in all Ispahan,
      Sniffed at the gift, yet accepted the same.
  'If I'd lived,' said he, 'my humility
      Had given me deathless fame!'

Sukker Uffro