“Fair Sou-Chong-Tee, by a shimmering brook + 

Where ghostlike lilies loomed tall and straight, + 

Met young Too-Hi, in a moonlit nook, + 

Where they cooed and kissed till the hour was late: + 

Then, with lanterns, a mandarin passed in state, + 

Named Hoo-Hung-Hoo of the Golden Band, + 

Who had wooed the maiden to be his mate⁠— + 

For these things occur in the Flowery Land. + 

“Now, Hoo-Hung-Hoo had written a book, + 

In seven volumes, to celebrate + 

The death of the Emperor’s thirteenth cook: + 

So, being a person whose power was great, + 

He ordered a herald to indicate + 

He would blind Too-Hi with a red-hot brand + 

And marry Sou-Chong at a quarter-past-eight⁠— + 

For these things occur in the Flowery Land. + 

“And the brand was hot, and the lovers shook + 

In their several shoes, when by lucky fate + 

A Dragon came, with his tail in a crook⁠— + 

A Dragon out of a Nankeen Plate⁠— + 

And gobbled the hard-hearted potentate + 

And all of his servants, and snorted, and + 

Passed on at a super-cyclonic rate⁠— + 

For these things occur in the Flowery Land. + 

“The lovers were wed at an early date, + 

And lived for the future, I understand, + 

In one continuous tête-à-tête⁠— + 

For these things occur⁠ ⁠… in the Flowery Land.” + 