A Boy's Description Of A Goat
(Written for Cousin James Diller.)
When the teacher asked young Leo to write a little rhyme
Describing some strange animal he'd seen at any time,
He seized his long slate pencil and this is what he wrote
About the common animal, which children call a goat:
A goat is stronger than a pig,
But often it is not as big.
It has four legs just like a horse,
But never runs on a race-course.
It gives good milk, though not as much
As cows and elephants and such,
But more than any bull or ox,
Rooster, ram, or sly old fox.
Like any mule a goat likes hay
And all tin cans we throw away.
He's useful and I'm fond of him,
But some good folks have a strange whim
To hold their noses when he's near,
And act as if they greatly fear
To touch his fur which has the smell
Of something I know very well.
The odor I'd know anywhere,
It's like Dad's tonic for his hair.