DOBBIN’S CHRISTMAS DINNER.
Now after this dinner of oats and of hay,
I’ll feel like a colt that is frisky and gay.
A horse they call handsome am I, and not old,
But many a time I’ve been bought and then sold.
My heels would go up, and my head would go down;
The young men would laugh and the old men would frown;
When bars I jumped over, the women would run;
The boys called it tricky, but I called it fun.
The mistress I now have is gentle and fair;
She always will give me the very best care;
I ought not to be frisky, her peace to destroy,
But a horse is as risky, alas, as a boy.
The dogs and the ducklings, the pretty white doves,
Are cared for by Horace, whom each of us loves.
Our mistress and master, and other friends dear,
We wish a bright Christmas and jolly New Year.