in the castle: a time of gifts

Mama ?
Yes Barbula ?
What would you like St Nicholas to bring you this year ?
Well child some candied sea holly would be splendid
Or perhaps some cat cheese in a raffia basket
And for yourself child ?
Mama i would love you erm St Nicholas to bring me
The latest model of zoëtrope with eelskin skin
Super fast clockwork and hollerith card memory
All my friends have them and laugh at my basic model
Honestly child these gadgets are the devil's playthings
Distracting young people from their schoolbooks and
Household duties
Last week Dorcadion the pargeter's son was drowned
Whilst playing with his zoëtrope in a stolen coracle
Mama that is so unfair
Dorcs was a brave sowja
And a legend in the posse
It is natural selection at work child
That drug-addled layabout has been removed from the gene pool
Before he could perpetuate his worthless genome
Harsh Mama harsh
And how do you know that he did not undergo zygosis
Before his untimely departure ?
Barbula ?
Belvedere
Inspection in five
Yes Mama
Or should that be Grandmama ?