Was one of reposeful ease;

He strutted about o’er the crags and cliffs

In a most ungainly fashion,

And the fowls that flew he was prone to view

With a kind of cold compassion.

“But it chanced one night that a hungry fox

Got a look at the awkward auk,

Who was strolling about on the spray-washed rocks

With his usual clumsy walk;

He made a dash for the startled bird,