 | Tales in Verse for Young People |  |
97
THE FOUND TREASURE.
Oh, Harry, come hither, and lay down your book,
And see what a treasure I've found! only look!
'Tis as handsome a kitten as ever you saw,
Equipped like a cat, with tail, whisker, and claw.
See, here it is ready for pastime and freak,
Though it looks at this moment so sober and meek:
Yes, Harry, examine it over and over,
Tis really the kitten no one could discover!
Oh, Kit, we have sought you above and below;
We have gone where a mouser never could go;
We have hunted in garrets with diligent care,
In chambers and closets—but you were not there;
We have been in dark corners with lanterns to see,
We've peeped in the hayloft if there you might be;
And the parlour and kitchen we've searched through and through,
And listened in vain for your musical mew!
And who would have thought that a sensible puss,
As your mother is deemed, would have harassed us thus?
Then to bury you here in this odd little den!
But you never, my Kit, shall be buried again;
You shall go to the parlour, and sit on the hearth,
And there we will laugh at your frolicsome mirth;
You shall caper about on the warm kitchen floor,
And in the hot sunshine shall bask at the door.
And see what a treasure I've found! only look!
'Tis as handsome a kitten as ever you saw,
Equipped like a cat, with tail, whisker, and claw.
See, here it is ready for pastime and freak,
Though it looks at this moment so sober and meek:
Yes, Harry, examine it over and over,
Tis really the kitten no one could discover!
Oh, Kit, we have sought you above and below;
We have gone where a mouser never could go;
We have hunted in garrets with diligent care,
In chambers and closets—but you were not there;
We have been in dark corners with lanterns to see,
We've peeped in the hayloft if there you might be;
And the parlour and kitchen we've searched through and through,
And listened in vain for your musical mew!
98
As your mother is deemed, would have harassed us thus?
Then to bury you here in this odd little den!
But you never, my Kit, shall be buried again;
You shall go to the parlour, and sit on the hearth,
And there we will laugh at your frolicsome mirth;
You shall caper about on the warm kitchen floor,
And in the hot sunshine shall bask at the door.
You shall have a round cork at the end of a string
Tied up to the table, you gray little thing!
You shall twirl round and round, like a brisk wind-mill sail,
You poor little simpleton, after your tail;
And jump in affright from a shade on the wall;
And spring, like a tiger, on nothing at all—
While my father will lay his old book on his knee,
And my mother look up from her knitting to see.
I am glad we have found you before you were wise,
And had learned all a kitten's arch ways to despise;
Before you grew sober, demure, and all that,
And adhered to grave rules, like a well-behaved cat!
Come, Kitty, we'll take you this same afternoon,
And shew you about like a man from the moon.
There, down in your basket, we'll cover you so,
And ask but a pin for a peep at the show!
Tied up to the table, you gray little thing!
You shall twirl round and round, like a brisk wind-mill sail,
You poor little simpleton, after your tail;
And jump in affright from a shade on the wall;
And spring, like a tiger, on nothing at all—
While my father will lay his old book on his knee,
And my mother look up from her knitting to see.
I am glad we have found you before you were wise,
And had learned all a kitten's arch ways to despise;
Before you grew sober, demure, and all that,
And adhered to grave rules, like a well-behaved cat!
Come, Kitty, we'll take you this same afternoon,
And shew you about like a man from the moon.
There, down in your basket, we'll cover you so,
And ask but a pin for a peep at the show!
| Tales in Verse for Young People | |