Sage Counsel

Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (1863–1944)

THE LION is the beast to fight,

He leaps along the plain,

And if you run with all your might,

He runs with all his mane.

I ’m glad I ’m not a Hottentot,

But if I were, with outward cal-lum

I ’d either faint upon the spot

Or hie me up a leafy pal-lum.

The chamois is the beast to hunt;

He ’s fleeter than the wind,

And when the chamois is in front,

The hunter is behind.

The Tyrolese make famous cheese

And hunt the chamois o’er the chaz-zums;

I ’d choose the former if you please,

For precipices give me spaz-zums.

The polar bear will make a rug

Almost as white as snow;

But if he gets you in his hug,

He rarely lets you go.

And Polar ice looks very nice,

With all the colors of a pris-sum;

But, if you ’ll follow my advice,

Stay home and learn your catechissum.