The Otter and Fox.
The otter had caught in the pool below
A silvery salmon so full of roe,
And clambering bore it over the rocks,
When who should he meet but his cousin the fox.
“Friend,” quoth the wily fox, “pray go
And bring me a fish from the pool below—
I’ve not tasted fish for a year or mo’.
Leave here thy salmon; go, haste thee back,
We’ll dine together and have our crack;
Believe me, dear otter, that over one’s food
The face of a friend is always good.”
The otter tumbled into the stream
Where the floating foam was white as cream;
He sought and searched in each cranny and hole,
But not a fish could he find in the pool.
“Well,” quoth the otter, “I’ll hasten back
To my cousin the fox, and we’ll have our crack
Over the salmon I left above;
One fish will go far that is eaten in love;
’Tis large, and fat, and full of roe,
And, fairly divided, will serve for two.”
Clambering over the rocks in haste
The otter returned to join his guest;
But guess his surprise when he reached the spot;
Where the fox had been—the fox was not,
And nought of the salmon that could be seen
But some silvery scales where the salmon had been!
The otter but said, “’Tis my belief
My cousin the fox should be hanged for a thief;
He’ll never again make me his tool,
For myself alone I’ll haunt the pool.”