The Kittens Garden of Verses | Page 3

Town.
Now, when they lift the lid, a scene
Of wonder meets my eyes,
Tall waving Feather-Dusters green,
That seem to touch the skies.
And over all the Ground is spread
A Rug of Emerald sweet,
Most deep enough to hide my head

And tickly to my feet.
And here's the Cow, calm-eyed stands she,
The Genie of the Jug,
Beneath the Feather-Duster Tree,
And eats the Emerald Rug.
[Illustration]
The Puppy
The Puppy cannot mew or talk,
He has a funny kind of walk,
His tail is difficult to wag
And that's what makes him walk zigzag.
He is the Kitten of a Dog,
From morn till night he's all agog--
Forever seeking something new
That's good but isn't meant to chew.
He romps about the Tulip bed,
And chews the Flowers white and red,
And when the Gardener comes
to see
He's sure to blame mamma or me.
One game that cannot ever fail
To please him is to chase his tail--
(To catch one's tail, 'twixt me and
you,
Is not an easy thing to do.)
If he has not a pretty face

The Puppy's heart is in its place.
I'm sorry he must grow into
A Horrid, Noisy Dog, aren't you?
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Moon
The Moon is like a big round cheese
That shines above the garden trees,
And like a cheese grows less each
night,
As though some one had had a bite.
The Mouse delights to nibble cheese,
The Dog bites anything he sees--
But how could they bite off the
Moon
Unless they went in a balloon?
And Human People, when they eat
They think it rude to bite their meat,
They use a Knife or Fork or
Spoon;
Who is it then that bites the moon?
[Illustration]
The Golden Cat
Great is the Golden Cat who treads
The Blue Roof Garden o'er our heads,
The never tired smiling One

That Human People call the Sun.
He stretches forth his paw at dawn
And though the blinds are closely drawn
His claws peep through like
Rays of Light,
To catch the fluttering Bird of Night.
He smiles into the Hayloft dim
And the brown Hay smiles back at him,
And when he strokes the
Earth's green fur
He makes the Fields and Meadows purr.
His face is one big Golden smile,
It measures round, at least a mile--
How dull our World would be,
and flat,
Without the Golden Pussy Cat.
[Illustration]
An Inquiry
A Birdie cocked his little head,
Winked his eye at me and said,
"Say, are you a Pussy Willer,
Or just a Kitty-Catty pillar?"
[Illustration]
A Kitten's Fancy
The Kitten mews outside the Door,

The Cat-bird in the Tree,
The Sea-mew mews upon the Shore,
The Catfish in the Sea.
The Emu with his feathers queer
Is mewing in the Zoo.
Why is it that I never hear
A Pussy-willow mew?
[Illustration]
In Darkest Africa
At evening when the lamp is lit,
The tired Human People sit
And doze, or turn with solemn looks
The speckled pages of their books.
Then I, the Dangerous Kitten, prowl
And in the Shadows softly growl,
And roam about the farthest floor
Where Kitten never trod before.
And, crouching in the jungle damp,
I watch the Human Hunter's camp,
Ready to spring with fearful roar
As soon as I shall hear them snore.
And then with stealthy tread I crawl
Into the dark and trackless hall,
Where 'neath the Hat-tree's shadows
deep
Umbrellas fold their wings and sleep.

A cuckoo calls--and to their dens
The People climb like frightened hens,
And I'm alone--and no one
cares
In Darkest Africa--down stairs.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Dog
The Dog is black or white or brown
And sometimes spotted like a clown.
He loves to make a foolish
noise
And Human Company enjoys.
The Human People pat his head
And teach him to pretend he's dead,
And beg, and fetch and carry too;
Things that no well-bred Cat will do.
At Human jokes, however stale,
He jumps about and wags his tail,
And Human People clap their
hands
And think he really understands.
They say "Good Dog" to him. To us
They say "Poor Puss," and make no fuss.
Why Dogs are "good" and
Cats are "poor"
I fail to understand, I'm sure.

To Someone very Good and Just,
Who has proved worthy of her trust,
A Cat will _sometimes_
condescend--
The Dog is Everybody's friend.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Game
Watching a ball on the end of a string,
Watching it swing back and to,
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a Kitten can do.
First it goes this way, then it goes that,
Just like a bird on the wing.
And all of a tremble I crouch on the mat
Like a Lion, preparing to spring.
And now with a terrible deafening mew,
Like a Tiger I leap on my prey,
And just when I think I have torn it in
two
It is up in the air and