HE made them try to stand on their heads
And wave their feet in the air,
Although they said the pain in their necks
Was more than a goose could bear.
He said that it didn’t hurt his back—
He liked it, for his part;
And all the geese declared he had
A most unfeeling heart.
HE knocked the bottom out of the pot
That had held the pencil-stew,
And held it in the air while five
Reluctant geese jumped through.
They said they burned their wings and feet
With the sides of the smoking pot.
He laughed, “Oh, nonsense! Now, my dears,
“We’ll try something really hot.”