| |
| A RAVEN sat upon a tree, | |
| And not a word he spoke, for | |
| His beak contained a piece of Brie, | |
| Or, maybe, it was Roquefort: | |
| We ’ll make it any kind you please— | 5 |
| At all events, it was a cheese. | |
| |
| Beneath the tree’s umbrageous limb | |
| A hungry fox sat smiling; | |
| He saw the raven watching him, | |
| And spoke in words beguiling: | 10 |
| “J’ admire,” said he, “ton beau plumage,” | |
| (The which was simply persiflage). | |
| |
| Two things there are, no doubt you know, | |
| To which a fox is used,— | |
| A rooster that is bound to crow, | 15 |
| A crow that ’s bound to roost, | |
| And whichsoever he espies | |
| He tells the most unblushing lies. | |
| |
| “Sweet fowl,” he said, “I understand | |
| You ’re more than merely natty: | 20 |
| I hear you sing to beat the band | |
| And Adelina Patti. | |
| Pray render with your liquid tongue | |
| A bit from ‘Götterdämmerung.’” | |
| |
| This subtle speech was aimed to please | 25 |
| The crow, and it succeeded: | |
| He thought no bird in all the trees | |
| Could sing as well as he did. | |
| In flattery completely doused, | |
| He gave the “Jewel Song” from “Faust.” | 30 |
| |
| But gravitation’s law, of course, | |
| As Isaac Newton showed it, | |
| Exerted on the cheese its force, | |
| And elsewhere soon bestowed it. | |
| In fact, there is no need to tell | 35 |
| What happened when to earth it fell. | |
| |
| I blush to add that when the bird | |
| Took in the situation | |
| He said one brief, emphatic word, | |
| Unfit for publication. | 40 |
| The fox was greatly startled, but | |
| He only sighed and answered “Tut!” | |
| |
| THE MORAL is: A fox is bound | |
| To be a shameless sinner. | |
| And also: When the cheese comes round | 45 |
| You know it ’s after dinner. | |
| But (what is only known to few) | |
| The fox is after dinner, too. | |
| |
