PETER'S CAKE
Peter Careful had a cake
Which his kind mamma did bake;
Of butter, eggs, and currants made,
And sent to Peter—carriage paid.
"Now," said Peter, "they shall see,
Wiser than Harry I will be;
For I will keep my cake in store,
And that will make it last the more."
He, like Harry (sad to say),
Did not give a bit away,
But, miser-like, the cake he locks
With all his playthings in his box.
And sometimes silently he'd go,
When all he thought engag'd below,
To eat a very little piece,
For fear his treasure should decrease.
When next he went (it makes me laugh)
He found the mice had eaten half,
And what remain'd, though once a treat,
So mouldy, 'twas not fit to eat.