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.
