D was a dandified Dog
  Who said,—­“Though it’s raining like fog
    I wear no umbrellah,
    Me boy, for a fellah
  Might just as well travel incog!”

  E was an elderly Eel
  Who would say,—­“Well, I really feel—­
    As my grandchildren wriggle
    And shout ’I should giggle’—­
  A trifle run down at the heel!”

  F was a Fowl who conceded
  Some hens might hatch more eggs than she did,—­
    But she’d children as plenty
    As eighteen or twenty,
  And that was quite all that she needed.

  G was a gluttonous Goat
  Who, dining one day, table-d’hote,
    Ordered soup-bone, au fait,
    And fish, papier-mache,
  And a filet of Spring overcoat.

  H was a high-cultured Hound
  Who could clear forty feet at a bound,
    And a coon once averred
    That his howl could be heard
  For five miles and three-quarters around.

  I was an Ibex ambitious
  To dive over chasms auspicious;
    He would leap down a peak
    And not light for a week,
  And swear that the jump was delicious.

  J was a Jackass who said
  He had such a bad cold in his head,
    If it wasn’t for leaving
    The rest of us grieving,
  He’d really rather be dead.

  K was a profligate Kite
  Who would haunt the saloons every night;
    And often he ust
    To reel back to his roost
  Too full to set up on it right.

  L was a wary old Lynx
  Who would say,—­“Do you know wot I thinks?—­
    I thinks ef you happen
    To ketch me a-nappin’
  I’m ready to set up the drinks!”

  M was a merry old Mole,
  Who would snooze all the day in his hole,
    Then—­all night, a-rootin’
    Around and galootin’—­
  He’d sing “Johnny, Fill up the Bowl!”

  N was a caustical Nautilus
  Who sneered, “I suppose, when they’ve caught all us,
    Like oysters they’ll serve us,
    And can us, preserve us,
  And barrel, and pickle, and bottle us!”

  O was an autocrat Owl—­
  Such a wise—­such a wonderful fowl! 
    Why, for all the night through
    He would hoot and hoo-hoo,
  And hoot and hoo-hooter and howl!

  P was a Pelican pet,
  Who gobbled up all he could get;
    He could eat on until
    He was full to the bill,
  And there he had lodgings to let!

  Q was a querulous Quail,
  Who said:  “It will little avail
    The efforts of those
    Of my foes who propose
  To attempt to put salt on my tail!”

  R was a ring-tailed Raccoon,
  With eyes of the tinge of the moon,
    And his nose a blue-black,
    And the fur on his back
  A sad sort of sallow maroon.

  S is a Sculpin—­you’ll wish
  Very much to have one on your dish,
    Since all his bones grow
    On the outside, and so
  He’s a very desirable fish.