A. Ballad 1: The Blessed Boy Of Bonn Poem by Hannington Mumo

A story is told that a great many years ago,
In the distant land of Bonn a boy was born;
And it amazed all that by the time he was fully grown,
No-one had ever heard him cry!

His father and mother also did say
That since that drizzly and dim day,
When that obedient boy of Bonn was born,
Not a single time did he against them transgress!

And the teachers who taught the boy of Bonn,
All had a surprising and a startling story of their own;
That once the little man stepped into the school,
Until he left with success at the age of seventeen,
He had kept off the company of every joker and fool,
And had been bright and quiet and keen!

Brothers and sisters of the boy of Bonn all tell,
Of a time when their sibling from a cliff fell,
But did not shout nor shed a tear;
And that to them he remained always dear!

The priest at the chapel of Bonn,
Says that the boy’s face was as expressionless as stone;
That laughter and merry were to him unknown;
But the youth had a genius for biblical verses,
And that he always topped his catechism classes!

All his friends have had all amazed,
When they tell how the lad behaved;
He would always forgive and forget;
He would never hurt nor upset,
And loved all friends and foes!

Every stranger who ever encountered the boy of Bonn,
Have had their listeners all take them for liars;
Grandfathers narrated to their grandsons around log fires,
The stories of their amazing age mate strange,
Who unlike them had respect for age;
He would never brush close to an elder upon the way,
But stood aside to let them pass.

Every girl wished that the boy of Bon would one day come
And take her as a bride to his home in Bonn;
For full of love he knew how to love;
Full of forgiveness he knew how to forgive;
And on his part would never hurt!

I bet God did love that magical boy too,
For when he grew to be twenty and two,
He disappeared to no-one knows where;
I guess God invited him to be with the angels above!