Cats and Kings
WITH wide unblinking stare
The cat looked ; but she did not see the king. She only saw a two-legged creature there Who, in due time, might have tit-bits to fling.
The king was on his throne.
In his left hand he grasped the golden ball.
She looked at him with eyes of bright green stone, And thought, What fun if he should let it fall.
With swishing tail she lay And watched for happy accidents, while he, The essential king, was brooding far away In his own world with hope and memory.
0, cats are subtle now, And kings are mice to many a modern mind ; And yet there throbbed behind that human brow The strangely simple thoughts that serve mankind.
The gulf might not be wide ; But over it, at least, no cat could spring. So once again an ancient adage lied.
The cat looked ; but she never saw the king.
ALFRED NOYES.'
[Copyright in the U.S.A.)
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