The cows in Henry’s yard stood and had a chat
but they were interrupted by the big old family cat.
He weaved in and out of umpteen sets of legs
then, whoosh, up he sprang, swinging from a bag of pegs
that hung down from the clothes line stretched across the breeze,
for quite an old and big fat cat, he did it with such ease.
The cows then nervously shuffled, moving from side to side
till out came Henry the farmer to open the gate out wide.
The cows were glad to see Henry, because in the past the cat
harassed them all quite badly, and quite often he even spat.
They tossed their heads back scowling as Henry led them away
but the tatty tom cat was too busy, watching tails and their glorious sway.
He jumped and clung, and was swung then he was simply tossed aside –
so determined was he to scramble aboard – he’d put up with the scary ride.
Again he desperately dangled there despite each tail’s wild swish –
somehow he knew as Henry glared – he wouldn’t get his wish.
Sheepishly he clambered down and low he crawled away,
Henry scolded and told him to go and stay in the yard and play.
That would be easy enough, thought the feline as he scratched,
and spotting the battered old hen house, he set too with claws and unlatched
the finely meshed outside doors that held in all the birds.
Soon out came Hilda, the farmer’s wife, totally lost for words.
“Oh, no! You bad old cat! What on earth have you done?
Shoo! Shoo!” she cried, wildly. “Come back here everyone!”
She ran through the birds rather quickly, in order to close the door
but thanks to the cat who tripped her up, with his big, fat, ugly paw,
she went face down in the flowerbeds then jumped to her feet with rage,
“Alright!” she fumed, “I’ve had enough, I’m putting you in the cage!”
By that she meant the bird house and with that she threw him in
“You’ve caused enough trouble on this farm – I’ll have no more of your din!”
The cat didn’t like this one little bit, but he knew things were a little fraught,
while meanwhile back in the yard, the birds had been successfully caught.
The farmer’s wife had generously scattered handfuls of welcoming seed,
which the birds flocked back to peck, undoing the mischievous cat’s wicked deed.
She closed the wooden door and securing it, made sure all the birds fed in the yard,
and the cat who remained a prisoner, was himself taught a lesson very, very hard
.