Said she didn't mind hearing their lively capers,
But her back was broke with the scraps o' papers.
Carrie, next day, couldn't raise her head;
Frank and Lulu were sick in bed;
The dog and cat were a used-up pair,
And all of them needed the doctor's care.
The children themselves can hardly fail
To tack a moral upon this trail;
And I guess on rather more level grounds
They'll play their next game of "Hare and Hounds."