The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll with an introduction by Alexander Woollcott and the illustrations by John Tenniel |
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 | The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll |  |
And here I must relate a little fable
I heard last Saturday at our high table:—
The cats, it seems, were masters of the house,
And held their own against the rat and mouse:
Of course the others couldn't stand it long,
So held a caucus (not, in their case, wrong);
And, when they were assembled to a man,
Uprose an aged rat, and thus began:—
I heard last Saturday at our high table:—
The cats, it seems, were masters of the house,
And held their own against the rat and mouse:
Of course the others couldn't stand it long,
So held a caucus (not, in their case, wrong);
And, when they were assembled to a man,
Uprose an aged rat, and thus began:—
“Brothers in bondage! Shall we bear to be
For ever left in a minority?
With what ‘fell unity of purpose’ cats
Oppose the trusting innocence of rats!
So unsuspicious are we of disguise,
Their machinations take us by surprise—
Insulting and tyrannical absurdities!
It is too bad by half—upon my word it is!
For, now that these Con—, cats, I should say (frizzle 'em!),
Are masters, they exterminate like Islam!
How shall we deal with them? I'll tell you how:—
Let none but kittens be allowed to miaow!
The Liberal kittens seize us but in play,
And, while they frolic, we can run away;
But older cats are not so generous,
Their claws are too Conservative for us!
Then let them keep the stable and the oats,
While kittens, rats, and mice have all the votes.
For ever left in a minority?
913
Oppose the trusting innocence of rats!
So unsuspicious are we of disguise,
Their machinations take us by surprise—
Insulting and tyrannical absurdities!
It is too bad by half—upon my word it is!
For, now that these Con—, cats, I should say (frizzle 'em!),
Are masters, they exterminate like Islam!
How shall we deal with them? I'll tell you how:—
Let none but kittens be allowed to miaow!
The Liberal kittens seize us but in play,
And, while they frolic, we can run away;
But older cats are not so generous,
Their claws are too Conservative for us!
Then let them keep the stable and the oats,
While kittens, rats, and mice have all the votes.
“Yes; banish cats! The kittens would not use
Their powers for blind obstruction, nor refuse
To let us sip the cream and gnaw the cheese—
How glorious then would be our destinies!
Kittens and rats would occupy the throne,
And rule the larder for itself alone!”
Their powers for blind obstruction, nor refuse
To let us sip the cream and gnaw the cheese—
How glorious then would be our destinies!
Kittens and rats would occupy the throne,
And rule the larder for itself alone!”
“Sometimes, indeed, not being informed that the wires are at work, we are completely taken by surprise.”
“Their powers would scarcely be exercised for the purposes of fanaticism, or in a spirit of blind obstruction.”
| The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll | |