LESSON XXX.
THE DEATH OF POOR PUSS.
"Here lies poor Puss!"—
"Who saw her die?" asked Grandmother Mouse,
Just peeping forth from her hole of a house.
"I," said Tommy Titmouse, "I saw her die;
I think she was choked while eating a fly."
"Who'll dig her grave?" asked Granny again;
In her voice, strange to say, there was no tone of pain.
"The honest old dormouse, out in the wood,
He'd dig a good grave, if any one could."
"Who'll be the bearers?" The grandchildren all
Were ready at once, at sound of the call.
"We'll carry Puss, since she can't carry us,
And bury her deep, without any fuss."
One seized her fore paw, another her tail,
Another her ear, to make sure not to fail.
Then off they all ran, for Puss winked her eye,
And sprang to her feet, as the mice squeaked "Good-by."
