Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CAT AND THE BIRD by GEORGE CANNING

First Line: TELL ME, TELL ME, GENTLE ROBIN
Last Line: THAT'S FLAT.
Subject(s): ANIMALS; CATS; ROBINS;

Tell me, tell me, gentle Robin,
What is it sets thy heart a-throbbing?
Is it that Grimalkin fell
Hath killed thy father or thy mother,
Thy sister or thy brother,
Or any other?
Tell me but that,
And I'll kill the Cat.
But stay, little Robin, did you ever spare
A grub on the ground or a fly in the air?
No, that you never did, I'll swear;
So I won't kill the Cat,
That's flat.




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