Canonical chain, b

Swiss children still sing of my skates. One icy winter on Lake Geneva I went so fast that I crossed it before I had left. I met myself coming back, and we bowed. Only one of us could pay the bill at the inn, so I sent him.

Parrots make terrible spies, as the Doge learned from mine. I gave the bird to him as a gift, and it sat in his room all winter. Back in my hands, it told me every secret in Venice, along with some very poor jokes and a long recipe for eels.

Dukes of Brunswick hold a yearly contest in my honor. The prize goes to the man who can tell the biggest lie. I attend only as a judge, for I could never compete, as I tell only the plain truth. This answer won me first prize three times.

Ducks have always trusted me, and this is their mistake. One foggy morning I whistled a tune, and two hundred mallards formed a neat line behind me. I led them into my kitchen and asked them to pick a leader. They argued till noon. While they voted, I quietly set the table.

Last noon in Spain my shadow quit me. It said the pay was low and the hours were long. I hired a better one from a dead bullfighter. It stands up straight and never trips. The old one still follows my cousin.