The Banshee
One night, a banshee slunk away
from mate and
child, and in the gloom
went to a village teacher’s tomb
requesting him: Inflect me, pray!
The village teacher climbed up straight
upon his
gravstone with its plate
and to the apparition said
who
meekly knelt before the dead:
"The banshee in the subject’s place,
the
banhers, the possesive case,
the banher next is what they call
objective case - and that is all."
The banshee marvelled at the cases
and writhed
with pleasure, making faces,
but said: "You did not add so
far
the plural to the singular."
The teacher though admitted then
that this was not
within his ken.
While bans were frequent, he advised
a she
could not be pluralized.
The banshee, rising clammily
wailed: "What
about my family?!"
But being not a learned creature
said
humbly "thanks" and left her teacher.
Ch. Morgenstern, translated by ???