You should know without fail a peculiar tale,
Or a fanciful ode as such;
That Peter Shaw's rabbit
Had a terrible habit
Of chewing the bars of his hutch.
Yet, this set aside, next he'd roam far and wide
Before climbing the garden wall.
Then he'd holler and croon
From the fence to the moon,
To be heard both by one and by all:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
And sure to his song by the wall came a throng
In waiting and patience there sat;
With mouths set to water
And eyes for the slaughter;
A whole host of blood-thirsty cats.
Then out from the house came a familiar shout
And young Peter ran swiftly down.
Locked back as before,
His gap was no more,
And padding was placed all around.
Yet the following night was a disturbing sight,
As the padding was pushed away.
And sure past the bars
Despite all odds, he was,
And he raised his voice to the sky:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
Then one by one, cats descended upon
One fearless and undaunted rabbit
In fours, threes and pairs.
He was caught unawares,
As each crouched low, ready to grab it.
Apart from the others came a wise, old cat mother;
Her kittens around by her side.
Upon her approach,
She cleared her throat
As meekly she sang and she cried:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
Away rabbit scampered, untouched and unhampered;
And scurried beneath Michael's gate.
Then he ran through the streets
Past a number of feet
'Til the evening began to get late.
And he sighed and he huffed and he panted and puffed,
For he knew he'd been running for hours.
Then sure midst the green,
Was a sight to be seen
As it lay all alone in the flowers:
With a shiny wet nose and small, dainty toes
And soft ears adorned in its fur;
Sharp claws in its feet
And huge canine teeth
With a gleam to beguile as a lure.
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
It made not a sound as it stood from the ground,
But it yawned as it shook its head
At the pitiful feast
Before the great beast.
It sighed and sat down, then said:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
With a cold, heavy heart, rabbit made a start
As he wearily walked away.
And he mourned and he wept
In the glade where he slept
Before making his way to the quay.
Now down by the quay was a sight to see:
A beautiful pea green boat
And jars of sweet honey
And plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
Too, there was to feature great, sleeping creature
Which rested beyond in the glade.
Rabbit never had heard
Of this magnificent bird
As his way around, softly, he made.
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
To little surprise, it opened its eyes,
In which endowed beauty there lay;
So tender and warm
In this beautiful form,
As it stretched out its wings in dismay.
Such warmth in its feathers, regardless of whether
It saw him as rival or folk.
With a razor sharp bill
And talons to kill
It flew to the floor and it spoke:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
But this was true love! T'was a sign from above
That rabbit and owl never part.
So raising his head
With a single tear shed,
He sung with his paw on his heart:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is....
Or a fanciful ode as such;
That Peter Shaw's rabbit
Had a terrible habit
Of chewing the bars of his hutch.
Yet, this set aside, next he'd roam far and wide
Before climbing the garden wall.
Then he'd holler and croon
From the fence to the moon,
To be heard both by one and by all:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
And sure to his song by the wall came a throng
In waiting and patience there sat;
With mouths set to water
And eyes for the slaughter;
A whole host of blood-thirsty cats.
Then out from the house came a familiar shout
And young Peter ran swiftly down.
Locked back as before,
His gap was no more,
And padding was placed all around.
Yet the following night was a disturbing sight,
As the padding was pushed away.
And sure past the bars
Despite all odds, he was,
And he raised his voice to the sky:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
Then one by one, cats descended upon
One fearless and undaunted rabbit
In fours, threes and pairs.
He was caught unawares,
As each crouched low, ready to grab it.
Apart from the others came a wise, old cat mother;
Her kittens around by her side.
Upon her approach,
She cleared her throat
As meekly she sang and she cried:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
Away rabbit scampered, untouched and unhampered;
And scurried beneath Michael's gate.
Then he ran through the streets
Past a number of feet
'Til the evening began to get late.
And he sighed and he huffed and he panted and puffed,
For he knew he'd been running for hours.
Then sure midst the green,
Was a sight to be seen
As it lay all alone in the flowers:
With a shiny wet nose and small, dainty toes
And soft ears adorned in its fur;
Sharp claws in its feet
And huge canine teeth
With a gleam to beguile as a lure.
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
It made not a sound as it stood from the ground,
But it yawned as it shook its head
At the pitiful feast
Before the great beast.
It sighed and sat down, then said:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
With a cold, heavy heart, rabbit made a start
As he wearily walked away.
And he mourned and he wept
In the glade where he slept
Before making his way to the quay.
Now down by the quay was a sight to see:
A beautiful pea green boat
And jars of sweet honey
And plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
Too, there was to feature great, sleeping creature
Which rested beyond in the glade.
Rabbit never had heard
Of this magnificent bird
As his way around, softly, he made.
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is thine!
Condemn me not, kitty, to pity and pine;
Beseech I thee, kitty, my pretty, be mine!"
To little surprise, it opened its eyes,
In which endowed beauty there lay;
So tender and warm
In this beautiful form,
As it stretched out its wings in dismay.
Such warmth in its feathers, regardless of whether
It saw him as rival or folk.
With a razor sharp bill
And talons to kill
It flew to the floor and it spoke:
"O rabbit so foolish, what bringeth thee hither?
For 'tis not profound to stay around, fall and wither!
So flee, foolish creature; escape thee far thither,
And hurry and see thee that thou dost not dither!"
But this was true love! T'was a sign from above
That rabbit and owl never part.
So raising his head
With a single tear shed,
He sung with his paw on his heart:
"O beautiful kitty, O kitty so fine;
I sing for thee, kitty; my ditty is....