 | Jane and Ann Taylor: Original Poems for Infant Minds |  |
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THE TRUE HISTORY OF A POOR LITTLE MOUSE.
A poor little mouse had once made him a nest,
As he fancied, the warmest, and safest, and best
That a poor little mouse could enjoy;
So snug and convenient, so out of the way,
This poor little mouse and his family lay,
They feared neither pussy nor boy.
As he fancied, the warmest, and safest, and best
That a poor little mouse could enjoy;
So snug and convenient, so out of the way,
This poor little mouse and his family lay,
They feared neither pussy nor boy.
It was in a stove that was seldom in use,
Where shavings and papers were scattered in loose,
That this poor little mouse made his hole:
But, alas! master William had seen him one day,
As in a great fright he had scampered away,
With a piece of plum-pudding he stole.
Where shavings and papers were scattered in loose,
That this poor little mouse made his hole:
But, alas! master William had seen him one day,
As in a great fright he had scampered away,
With a piece of plum-pudding he stole.
As soon as young William (who, cruel and bad,
No pitiful thoughts for dumb animals had)
Descried the poor fellow's retreat,
He crept to the shavings, and set them alight,
And before the poor mouse could run off in its fright,
It was smothered to death in the heat!
No pitiful thoughts for dumb animals had)
Descried the poor fellow's retreat,
He crept to the shavings, and set them alight,
And before the poor mouse could run off in its fright,
It was smothered to death in the heat!
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Poor mouse! how it died I can't bear to relate,
Nor how all its little ones shared the same fate,
And sunk, one by one, in the flame!
Suppose we should hear, as we may do some night,
That William's own bed-curtains catching alight,
He suffered exactly the same!
Nor how all its little ones shared the same fate,
And sunk, one by one, in the flame!
Suppose we should hear, as we may do some night,
That William's own bed-curtains catching alight,
He suffered exactly the same!
| Jane and Ann Taylor: Original Poems for Infant Minds | |