"He really didn't have the time," your Aunt Amy said laughingly, and then, to take Mrs. Goose's attention from what was really a greedy act, she asked about Mr. Crow's poetry concerning the likeness of one animal to another of its kind.
SEARCHING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE.
"It's only a nonsense rhyme," Mrs. Goose replied with a sigh as she turned her eyes from Mr. Gander, who was twisting and squirming as if he had something inside of him which caused considerable pain. "I'll repeat it if you wish, and it wouldn't make me feel badly if old Mr. Gander came within an inch of dying. A whole frog is far too big a mouthful for a goose of his age."
"It's certain he is being punished for his greediness," your Aunt Amy replied; "but it isn't well to rejoice while others are in trouble, even when they brought it upon themselves, as did Mr. Gander. Suppose you repeat Mr. Crow's poetry?"
Mrs. Goose snapped her bill together sharply as she turned her back on the suffering gander, and recited the following jingle:
I'd love a goose that wears a shawl,
Or a gander in coat and hat;
I'd just adore a tamed giraffe,
Or a literary cat.
I'd like a goat with graceful curves,
Or a bear with manners neat;
A chimpanzee in a cutaway,
I think would be just sweet.
I'd appreciate a gentle snake,
Or a dove whose ways were wild.
A bluefish draped in petticoats,
Or a tiger nice and mild.
A mackintosh upon an owl
To me would be just fine.
I'd like to know a kangaroo
Who'd ask me out to dine.
An elk dressed up in uniform,
I'd love beyond compare.
I'd even like a flying lynx,
Or an educated hare.
There's many more I'd love to have,
But never can I find
An animal but what he's like
The others of his kind.
"There's a deal of truth in the last three lines of that poetry," Mrs. Goose said with a sigh, casting one more reproachful glance at the suffering Mr. Gander. "I was up near Mr. Man's barn the other day, and there I saw two kittens making a most disgraceful spectacle of themselves; but yet they were exactly like all other cats I have ever seen.