A Book for Kids
BIRD SONG (CROW)
I detest the Carrion Crow!
(He's a raven, don't you know?)
   He's a greedy glutton, also, and a ghoul,
And his sanctimonious caw
Rubs my temper on the raw.
   He's a demon, and a most degraded fowl.

I admire the pert Blue-wren And his dainty little hen- Though she hasn't got a trace of blue upon her; But she's pleasing, and she's pretty, And she sings a cheerful ditty; While her husband is a gentleman of honour.
I despise the Pallid Cuckoo, A disreputable "crook" who Shirks her duties for a lazy life of ease. I abhor her mournful call, Which is not a song at all But a cross between a whimper and a wheeze.

Copyright © Perry Middlemiss 2002