A POEM . . .

 

The Fable of the Fox and Goose

      Lionel Ledbetter, 2013

There once was a fox, as wise as can be,

He lived in the hollow of an old oak tree.

Not so very far from an ol’ Farmer’s Farm;

A farmer he knew would do him great harm.

Also, on that farm lived a lively young goose,

And he caused the fox’s dry mouth to juice.

Without a care, the goose gandered about,

Causing the fox great apprehension, no doubt.

One day they met at the edge of the farm:

The goose knew, for sure, the fox meant him harm.

Mr. Fox, I know you can eat me, he said,

But, I know a better way you can be fed.

The farmer has many an egg you can eat,

and they are more juicy than feathery meat.

I’ll tell you just how to gain your supply;

as quick as a wink, or the blink of an eye.

The farmer is rich and he doesn’t have need

for all of his wealth, and all of his greed.

We poor of the earth, he cares not about:

We should take eggs from the lecherous lout.

Sure, he feeds us, and quite well in fact,

But he profits from the sweat of our back.

We animals are brothers, and should take heed

About each other’s wants and each other’s need.

You can sneak around by the ol’ mill gate,

while I distract the hound, down by the lake.

His threat to you I shall circumvent,

and you can then eat to your hearts content.

The sly ol’ fox, he surmised this odd tale:

Hen’s eggs were delicious, he knew quite well.

Oh, this we will do, he quickly agreed:

Eggs, he knew, were quite delicious indeed.

So, the goose set off, the hound to distract,

And also the fox, to the mill gate out back.

But, the goose had another plan in his mind;

A problem solution of a far different kind.

He enlisted the hound in his subversive trick,

To solve the fox dilemma finally and quick.

He sent the hound round to the ol’ mill gate,

Leaving himself to just piddle and wait.

Then suddenly upon him with claw and tooth

Pounced the fox, ‘fore he could honk or hoot.

In this moral lesson we all can deduce,

Why no-one says: “he’s as sly as a goose”.

The SLY fox knew: “If the goose would betray

the farmer that feeds him, he will betray me too.”