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No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge,
 and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.
- L. Frank Baum 1856-1919

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The Nightingale
(from "The Te of Piglet" by Benjamin Hoff

The emperor of China loved to listen to the singing of the nightingale which brought him great contentment. One day he was presented with a mechanical bird covered with jewels and gold. To the emperor's amazement, it sang the nightingale's song with perfect clockwork precision, whenever he wanted it to. It quickly became the sensation of the empire - from peasant children to court officials, everyone (or almost everyone) admired the wonderful bird which sang perfectly over and over. Ignored and forgotten, the real bird flew away.

But after some time, the clockwork bird broke down. Without its song to soothe him, the emperor became ill. His condition grew worse until he was nearly at the point of death. Just then, a nightingale alighted outside the window and began to sing. His will to live restored, the emperor recovered.

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Where the Sidewalk ends
Shel Silverstein 1930-99

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

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El Rio de Luz (The River of Light)  (1877)
Frederic Edwin Church 1826-1900

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