A poem by Beverly Stock.
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The fable which I now present,
Occurred to me by accident:
And whether bad or excellent,
Is merely so by accident.
A foolish elf this morning went
Into a field by accident:
And ate his food, and was content,
Until he spied by accident
A flute, which some oblivious gent
Had left behind by accident;
When sniffling it with eager scent,
He breathed on it by accident,
And made the hollow instrument
Emit a sound by accident.
"Hurrah,” said he, “I made it toot!”
"How cleverly I play the flute!"
A fool, in spite of nature's bent,
May shine for once, by accident.
My poem is a slight variation (in italics) of The Musical Ass, By Tomás de Iriarte y Oropesa, in the public domain.