The Rubáiyát of a Persian Kitten by Oliver Herford (summer books TXT) 📖
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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RUB�IY�T OF A PERSIAN KITTEN *** Produced by David Edwards, Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.)
![Front cover of The Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten]()
The
Rubáiyát
of a
Persian Kitten![Decorative crest]()
Persian Kitten
TheRubáiyát
of a
Persian Kitten
By
Oliver Herford
New York · Charles Scribner’s Sons
Mcmvi
Copyright, 1904, by
Oliver Herford
The De Vinne Press.
The Rubáiyát of aPersian Kitten
Wake! for the Golden Cat has put to flight
The Mouse of Darkness with his Paw of Light:
Which means, in Plain and simple every-day
Unoriental Speech—The Dawn is bright.
![The sun rises with the face of a kitten]()
The Mouse of Darkness with his Paw of Light:
Which means, in Plain and simple every-day
Unoriental Speech—The Dawn is bright.
They say the Early Bird the Worm shall taste.
Then rise, O Kitten! Wherefore, sleeping, waste
The Fruits of Virtue? Quick! the Early Bird
Will soon be on the Flutter—O make haste!
![A kitten about to pounce on a bird]()
Then rise, O Kitten! Wherefore, sleeping, waste
The Fruits of Virtue? Quick! the Early Bird
Will soon be on the Flutter—O make haste!
The Early Bird has gone, and with him ta’en
The Early Worm—Alas! the Moral’s plain,
O Senseless Worm! Thus, thus we are repaid
For Early Rising—I shall doze again.
![The kitten watches the bird fly away]()
The Early Worm—Alas! the Moral’s plain,
O Senseless Worm! Thus, thus we are repaid
For Early Rising—I shall doze again.
The Mouse makes merry ’mid the Larder Shelves,
The Bird for Dinner in the Garden delves.
I often wonder what the creatures eat
One half so toothsome as they are Themselves.
![A kitten watches a mouse on a shelf]()
The Bird for Dinner in the Garden delves.
I often wonder what the creatures eat
One half so toothsome as they are Themselves.
And that Inverted Bowl of Skyblue Delf
That helpless lies upon the Pantry Shelf—
Lift not your eyes to It for help, for It
Is quite as empty as you are yourself.
![The kitten looks up at a bowl on the shelf]()
That helpless lies upon the Pantry Shelf—
Lift not your eyes to It for help, for It
Is quite as empty as you are yourself.
The Ball no question makes of Ayes or Noes,
But right or left, as strikes the Kitten, goes;
Yet why, altho’ I toss it Far Afield,
It still returneth—Goodness only knows!
![A kitten plays with a ball on a string]()
But right or left, as strikes the Kitten, goes;
Yet why, altho’ I toss it Far Afield,
It still returneth—Goodness only knows!
A Secret Presence that my likeness feigns,
And yet, quicksilver-like, eludes my pains—
In vain I look for Him behind the glass;
He is not there, and yet He still remains.
![A kitten peers round the edge of a mirror at its reflection]()
And yet, quicksilver-like, eludes my pains—
In vain I look for Him behind the glass;
He is not there, and yet He still remains.
What out of airy Nothing to invoke
A senseless Something to resist the stroke
Of unpermitted Paw—upon the pain
Of Everlasting Penalties—if broke.
![A kitten watches a goldfish in a bowl]()
A senseless Something to resist the stroke
Of unpermitted Paw—upon the pain
Of Everlasting Penalties—if broke.
I sometimes think the Pussy-Willows grey
Are Angel Kittens who have lost their way,
And every Bulrush on the river bank
A Cat-Tail from some lovely Cat astray.
![A willow twig covered with kittens instead of catkins]()
Are Angel Kittens who have lost their way,
And every Bulrush on the river bank
A Cat-Tail from some lovely Cat astray.
Sometimes I think perchance that Allah may,
When he created Cats, have thrown away
The Tails He marred in making, and they grew
To Cat-Tails and to Pussy-Willows grey.
![A kitten peeks out through bulrushes]()
When he created Cats, have thrown away
The Tails He marred in making, and they grew
To Cat-Tails and to Pussy-Willows grey.
And lately, when I was not Feeling Fit,
Bereft alike of Piety and Wit,
There came an Angel Shape and offered me
A Fragrant Plant and bid me taste of it.
![A lady offers the kitten a sprig of catnip]()
Bereft alike of Piety and Wit,
There came an Angel Shape and offered me
A Fragrant Plant and bid me taste of it.
’Twas that reviving Herb, that Spicy Weed,
The Cat-Nip. Tho’ ’tis good in time of need,
Ah, feed upon it lightly, for who knows
To what unlovely antics it may lead.
![The kitten rolls around in play]()
The Cat-Nip. Tho’ ’tis good in time of need,
Ah, feed upon it lightly, for who knows
To what unlovely antics it may lead.
Strange—is it not?—that of the numbers who
Before me passed this Door of Darkness thro’,
Not one returns thro’ it again, altho’
Ofttimes I’ve waited here an hour or two.
![A kitten peers into the top of a boot while mice scamper from a hole in the toe]()
Before me passed this Door of Darkness thro’,
Not one returns thro’ it again, altho’
Ofttimes I’ve waited here an hour or two.
’Tis but a Tent where takes his one Night’s Rest
A Rodent to the Realms of Death address’d,
When Cook, arising, looks for him and then—
Baits, and prepares it for another Guest.
![A kitten watches a mouse caught under a basket trap]()
A Rodent to the Realms of Death address’d,
When Cook, arising, looks for him and then—
Baits, and prepares it for another Guest.
They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep.
The Lion is my cousin; I don’t know
Who Jamshýd is—nor shall it break my sleep.
![A kitten looks at a small statuette of a lion]()
The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep.
The Lion is my cousin; I don’t know
Who Jamshýd is—nor shall it break my sleep.
Impotent glimpses of the Game displayed
Upon the Counter—temptingly arrayed;
Hither and thither moved or checked or weighed,
And one by one back in the Ice Chest laid.
![A kitten sits outside a butcher's window, staring at the game on display]()
Upon the Counter—temptingly arrayed;
Hither and thither moved or checked or weighed,
And one by one back in the Ice Chest laid.
What if the Sole could fling the Ice aside,
And with me to some Area’s haven glide—
Were’t not a Shame, were’t not a shame for it
In this Cold Prison crippled to abide?
![A kitten reaches for a fish in an icebox]()
And with me to some Area’s haven glide—
Were’t not a Shame, were’t not a shame for it
In this Cold Prison crippled to abide?
Some for the Glories of the Sole, and Some
Mew for the proper Bowl of Milk to come.
Ah, take the Fish and let your Credit go,
And plead the rumble of an empty Tum.
![The kitten grabs for the fish]()
Mew for the proper Bowl of Milk to come.
Ah, take the Fish and let your Credit go,
And plead the rumble of an empty Tum.
One thing is certain: tho’ this Stolen Bite
Should be my last and Wrath consume me quite,
One taste of It within the Area caught
Better than at the Table lost outright.
![The kitten, carrying the fish, sneaks away from the house]()
Should be my last and Wrath consume me quite,
One taste of It within the Area caught
Better than at the Table lost outright.
Indeed, indeed Repentance oft before
I swore, but was I hungry when I swore?
And then and then came Cook—with Hose in hand—
And drowned my glory in a sorry pour.
![The kitten drops the fish and runs away from the spraying water]()
I swore, but was I hungry when I swore?
And then and then came Cook—with Hose in hand—
And drowned my glory in a sorry pour.
What without asking hither harried whence,
And without asking whither harried hence—
O, many a taste of that forbidden Sole
Must down the memory of that Insolence.
![The soaked kitten looks sorry for itself]()
And without asking whither harried hence—
O, many a taste of that forbidden Sole
Must down the memory of that Insolence.
Heaven, but the vision of a Flowing Bowl;
And Hell, the sizzle of a Frying Sole
Heard in the hungry Darkness, where Myself,
So rudely cast, must impotently roll.
![The kitten, outside the house, peers through the window at the warm fire]()
And Hell, the sizzle of a Frying Sole
Heard in the hungry Darkness, where Myself,
So rudely cast, must impotently roll.
The Vine has a tough Fibre which about
While clings my Being;—let the Canine Flout
Till his Bass Voice be pitched to such loud key
It shall unlock the door I mew without.
![A kitten climbs a tree to escape a barking dog]()
While clings my Being;—let the Canine Flout
Till his Bass Voice be pitched to such loud key
It shall unlock the door I mew without.
Up from the Basement to the Seventh Flat
I rose, and on the Crown of Fashion sat,
And many a Ball unravelled by the way—
But not the Master’s angry Bawl of “Scat!”
![A kitten sits by a mirror, which shows the reflection of a man]()
I rose, and on the Crown of Fashion sat,
And many a Ball unravelled by the way—
But not the Master’s angry Bawl of “Scat!”
Then to the Well of Wisdom I—and lo!
With my own Paw I wrought to make it flow,
And This was all the Harvest that I reaped:
We come like Kittens and like Cats we go.
With my own Paw I wrought to make it flow,
And This was all the Harvest that I reaped:
We come like Kittens and like Cats we go.
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