I found a starving cat in the street:
It cried for food and a place by the fire.
I carried it home, and I strove to meet
The claims of its desire.
And since its desire was a little fish,
A little hay and a little milk,
I gave it cream in a silver dish
And a basket lined with silk.
And when we came to the grateful pause
When it should have fawned on the hand that fed,
It turned to a devil all teeth and claws,
Scratched me and bit me and fled.
To pay for the fish and the milk and the hay
With a purr had been an easy task:
But its hate and my blood were required to pay
For the gifts that it did not ask.
Gratitude
E. (edith) Nesbit
(1)
Poem topics: cat, fire, food, hate, home, silver, place, street, cream, easy, devil, grateful, basket, fish, desire, milk, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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