T

HE world is wide,' exclaimed the Goose,
'I think I'd like to travel.'
'And so should I,' the Ass replied,
'I'm tired of loads of gravel.'
'Where shall we go?' inquired Miss Goose;
'Myself, I fancy China.
'Oh, no!' cried Ass; 'in Switzerland
The mountain peaks are finer.'
'A fig for landscapes!' hissed his friend,
'I yearn for fields of paddy;
About my food I must confess
I am a trifle "faddy."'
'They'd make us into food,' cried Ass,
'They'd fry our bones in batter;
I will not walk ten thousand miles
To make a Chinee fatter.'
And as no plan would suit them both,
They have not yet departed,
And I should hear with great surprise
That they had really started.

A. Katherine Parkes.