Oliver Herford

“ Spider’s voice I heard
Crying in an angry tone:
“Better let my lunch alone!
Even Spiders’ rights must be respected.
“One would think, for all you care,
Spiders could subsist on air.
Listen to this tale and see
If you don’t agree with me!”
* * *
I sat down without a word,
Following is the tale I heard:
74
THE TALE.
The Spider spinneth a yarn to instruct the Poet and divert him that he may forget about the Fly.
A Prince who sought
His lost Bride, caught
In the toils of a witch,—woe betide her!—
When riding one night
Through a forest, caught sight
Of a Spi in the web of a Flyder. ”

“ But what are you making?” said they.
“A Snow Man, of course,” said the Eskimo;
The Bears gave a comical stare;
85 Said they, “If you must make a person of snow,
Why on earth don’t you make a Snow Bear?”
He sat himself down for a moment to think
Of some suitable sort of reply,
When a Penguin, two Foxes, a Seal, and a Mink,
And a Walrus came wandering by. ”

“ Miss B.— Pooh! Pooh!
There are trains for people who cannot fly.
Mrs. C.—Yes, but the fares are so dreadfully high!
So really I mustn’t think of that—
Miss B.—If only you’d wings like your cousin Bat. ”

“ Of dome or hat—let’s call it an umbrella-tree, for short.
“The very place!” exclaimed the elf. “So strange a tree, ’tis clear,
Is just the thing to mark the spot. I’ll hide my treasure here.”
No sooner said than done; and then, his treasure buried deep,
Upon a bed of moss near by he laid him down to sleep.
For once the elf enjoyed a night from dreams and terrors free;
And, waking, sought with bounding step his tall umbrella-tree.
82
“Ah, here it is!” ”

“ Setting forth how a Poet and a Fly were both taken in by a Spider’s yarn, and how that a diverting tale may speed a good dinner.
Listening to the Spider, I
Quite forgot poor Mr. Fly
And his pitiable plight
Till the tale was finished quite,
Then, alas! too late I knew,
Mr. Fly was finished, too.
78
Highly Connected.
“I’m a very little cat,
I know, and thin at that;
But cast your eye upon this poster fine—
The big chap on that ball,
He’s just a King, that’s all—
And, by the way, a relative of mine!”
79
The Miser Elf. ”

“ The kind for “dog-bites,” don’t you know.
43
The Naughty Fay
Once a naughty fay
Chanced to sprain her wing;
“At her tricks,” they say—
“Naughty little thing!”
Said the little fay
As she lay in pain,
“No more tricks I’ll play
When I’m well again.”
44
Time heals everything.
Can this be our fay,
She who sprained her wing
Just the other day?
Can she be this fair
Thrifty little thing,
Sewing up a tear
In a beetle’s wing?
Yes,—alas! but oh,
Not a thrifty elf;
Of course she has to sew
What she tore herself!
45
46
The Miller’s Quest
(A Floury Tale.) ”

“ To be shut up in a story-book with Dragons, Queens, and Kings,
And always have to do and say the same old, senseless things;
You think it would be very fine, but really it’s no joke!
I’d rather be a girl, like you!—”
Then little Nell awoke,
“Poor Princess Goldenhair,” said she,—“unhappy little elf,
I’m rather glad, upon the whole, that I am just myself!”
52
The Unfortunate Giraffe.
There was once a Giraffe who said, “What
Do I want with my tea strong or hot?
For my throat’s such a length,
The tea loses its strength,
And is cold ere it reaches the spot.”
53
Stockings or Scales. ”

“ And we’ll always remain,
Yours sincerely, “The Birds.”
P. S.—Please don’t mind if this letter sounds flat,
And present our respectful regards to your cat.
73
The Spider’s Tale.
The Poet offereth to deliver a Fly from the Spider’s web.
“Really, Fly, you ought to know
Better, surely, than to go
Into Mr. Spider’s net. ”