< Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems

THE LOST PET.

Oh, list! while I tell
Of the fate that befell
A pet that was dear unto me, —
A black-and-tan pup.
Oh! bitter the cup
Prepared by that " Heathen Chinee "
For me,
The friend of those venders of tea.


This young black-and-tan
Away from me ran, —
An act which I did not foresee;
And, though I did seek
For over a week
To find him, it was not to be.
You'll see,
'Twas the work of that sinful Chinee.


His name was Ah-Bet,
(Not the name of my pet,
But of him of Chinese pedigree;)
And he kept a small shop,
And had the best "chop"
Of tit-bits from over the sea,
That he
Obtained from his far-famed patrie.


He had "chow-chow," that tickles
The lover of pickles,
Though with me it did never agree;
And things filled with spice,
Which may have been mice,—
They looked enough like them, — dear me!
To see
Such food in the "land of the free."


One day I'd a friend
Who was coming to spend
The day, and take dinner with me:
So I went to Ah-Bet,
And told him to get
A rabbit "and fixin's;" and he
Said "Oui,"
In a manner quite Frenchy to see.


The clock had struck one:
The dinner was done,
And served up with steaming Bohea.
"'Tis excellent fare,
This rabbit, or hare,:

Whichever it may be," said he,

(Mon ami:)
"You've a prize in that Heathen Chinee."


Just then in the dish
I noticed him fish
For something he thought he could see,
That didn't look right;
And brought to the light
A tag, with inscription, " Toby."
Ah me!
'Twas that of my lost favori!

This work was published before January 1, 1924, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

 
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