Can you substitute words which fulfil the conditions?
275. DROP LETTER PUZZLE
My first was of the ...... breed,
Their ..... captain, hot and riled,
To .... his men found vain indeed,
They only ... and smoked, and smiled!
One letter is dropped each time.
276. DOUBLETS
Can you convert HARE into SOUP, using not more than six links, changing only one letter with each link, and preserving the order of the letters from link to link?