THE LONG AND WINDING TAIL OF A RAT AND A MOUSE

The Rat who stole
My Mouse
Was a dirty louse!

Drat that Rat!
He had no right!
He pranced
Right into the house
And absconded
With that Mouse.
And if that wasn't enough
Of a lemon sucks,
He had the gall
To blame it all
On that silly Cat
(I rather agree
With him on that)
The vain feline insists
On wearing
A jingly silver bell
With amethysts
Which rather destroys
The element of surprise
So essential
To a preemptive strike
Be it Air, Tank or Cat-attack...

Be that as it may,
The Rat stole the Mouse
The chocolate one?
With the marzipan whiskers
And the liquorish tail.
The delicious one
With the ginger-bread filling
I was saving
Just for you, my love...

Oh and he vengefully
Nibbled a hole
In a black satin glove.
The right hand too!
And that's the end
Of this rather
Sad tale...
(I would be remiss
If I fail
To point out
That last line is in
To keep it rhyming
Right to the end.)

Hey?
What chocolate trail
Around my mouth?
Didn't I tell you?
This dirty thieving Rat
Sneaked in
And stole my Mouse?
The one I was saving for you?

Manuela Cardiga