by David Roderick

Mouse the drummer and the boggley-eyed cat.

As the mouse emerged from its house,
The cat arose from its mat.
Pensively, and without fail,
It began to wave its stoic tail.
Now, here’s the tale of this mouse,
That began to emerge from its rustic house.

Now, this mouse was in the army,
Had a drum and was not balmy.
The cat, however, all the same,
Would not rub against the grain.
He said, “Why don’t you compensate my
Hunger for some delicatessen,
And make sacrifice not for Queen and country,
But just for my hungry tummy?”

The mouse, however, saw this coming,
Beat his drum, and started running.
As he did, he chanted loud,
The anthem that will make us proud:

“Now’s the time, have pause for thought,
To the tune that we are taught.
Here’s the beat, there’s the drum,
For the race that we’ve begun.
We’ll be grateful, we’ll be nice.
Here’s the cat; now we’ll be mice.
Now that I think mindfully,
The world’s my oyster. I’ll be free
To choose the better consequence
Without ignoble recompense.”

The Police arrived upon the scene;
Without its food the cat was green.
The handcuffed cat was brought to book.
Its former ways it has forsook.

see animation
at https://vimeo.com/220048027
Password: “Bamburgh”.