5th Wrenboy: I do not.

Guardian: Try it again now.  You said it off quite well this morning.

5th Wrenboy: It fails me.

Guardian: Now I will give you a start:  “William the First as the Conqueror known, At the Battle of Hastings ascended the throne ...”  Say that now.

5th Wrenboy:  (Nudging 4th.) Let you word it.

4th Wrenboy:  (To Guardian.) Let you word it again, sir.

Guardian:  “William the First as the Conqueror known.”

4th Wrenboy:  William the First as the congereel known....

Guardian:  What is that?  You would not do it to vex me!  Gillie is maybe right.  There is something strange.... (To another.) You may try now.  Go on to the next verse.  “William called Rufus from having red hair.” ..._(He does not answer_.) Say it anyone who knows....

3rd Wrenboy:  (Putting up his hand.) I know a man that has red hair!

All the Wrenboys:  (Cheerfully) So do I!  So do I!

2nd Wrenboy:  He lives in the wood beyond!  He is no way good!  He is an Ogre, a Grugach....

1st Wrenboy:  He can turn himself into the shape of a beast, or he can change his face at any time; sometimes he’ll be that wicked you would think he was a wolf; he would skin you with his cat-o’-nine-tails!

Guardian:  What gibberish are you talking?

2nd Wrenboy:  He goes working underground to get gold!

3rd Wrenboy:  It is minded by enchanted cats!

4th Wrenboy:  They would tear in bits anyone that would find it!

Guardian:  Now take care, lads, this is carrying a joke too far.  I was wrong to begin with that silly history.  Tell me out now the parts of speech.

  “A noun’s the name of anything
  As school or garden, hoop or swing.”

5th Wrenboy:  An owl’s the name of anything....

Guardian:  A noun.

5th Wrenboy:  An owl.

Guardian:  Don’t pretend you don’t know it.

5th Wrenboy:  I do know it.  I know an owl that sits in the cleft of the hollow sycamore and eats its fill of mice, till it can hardly put a stir out of itself.

Guardian:  I do wish you would stop talking nonsense.

1st Wrenboy:  It is not, but sense.  It devoured ere yesterday a whole fleet of young rats.

2nd Wrenboy:  It’s as wise as King Solomon.

Guardian:  Gillie was right.  There is surely something gone wrong in their heads.

2nd Wrenboy:  Go out yourself and you’ll see are we wrong in the head!  Inside in the old sycamore he is sitting through the daylight.

1st Dowager Messenger:  There is something gone wrong in somebody’s head.

2nd Dowager Messenger:  (Tapping her forehead.) The poor Guardian; he is too long past his youth.  It is well we came to look how things were going before it is too late.