Читать книгу The Placid Pug, and Other Rhymes - Douglas Alfred Bruce - Страница 3

THE Lion laps the limpid lake,

The Pard refuses wine,

The sinuous Lizard and the Snake,

The petulant Porcupine,

Agree in this, their thirst to quench

Only with Nature's natural "drench."

In vain with beer you tempt the Deer,

Or lure the Marmozet;

The early morning Chanticleer,

The painted Parroquet,

Alike, on claret and champagne

Gaze with unfaltering disdain.

No ale or spirit tempts the Ferret,

No juice of grape the Toad.

In vain towards the "Harp and Merit"

The patient Ox you goad;

Not his in rapture to extol

The praises of the flowing bowl.

The silent Spider laughs at cider,

The Horse despises port;

The Crocodile (whose mouth is wider

Than any other sort)

Prefers the waters of the Nile

To any of a stronger style.