The Voice Of The Lobster

"'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare

'You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair.'

As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose

Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes.

When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark,

And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark:

But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,

His voice has a timid and tremulous sound."

"I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,

How the Owl and the Panter were sharing a pie:

The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,

While the Old had the dish as its share of the treat.

When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,

Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:

While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,

And concluded the banquet by [eating the owl.]

NB the final three words are not part of the original in Carroll's story but they are implied by context.This is a parody of an earlier poem cica 1715 by Isaac Watts entitled The Sluggard.http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/show/138324-Isaac-Watts-The-Sluggard Thanks to Oldpoetry reader Morag for the information.