By the saints, I hath found a most curious sight, some manner of sea creature, a lobster, it seems, clutching a quill as though it were a learned scribe! The beast scratches strange symbols upon parchment, as if tallying coin or counting the lord’s taxes. Above, the words proclaim defiance, a phrase of rebellion most foul, and below it speaks of deceit in the paying of levies! ‘Tis madness, surely, either sorcery or the devil’s jest, for no creature of the deep should meddle with man’s parchments nor cheat the king’s collectors!
