Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AN OLD RAT'S TALE, by                    
First Line: He was a rat and she was a rat
Last Line: "but what befell them I never can tell, / for they never came back again"
Variant Title(s): What Became Of Them?
Subject(s): Rats


He was a rat, and she was a rat,
And down in one hole they did dwell,
And both were as black as a witch's cat,
And they loved one another well.
He had a tail, and she had a tail,
Both long and curling and fine;
And each said, "Yours is the finest tail
In the world, excepting mine.'
He smelt the cheese, and she smelt the cheese,
And they both pronounced it good;
And both remarked it would greatly add
To the charms of their daily food.
So he ventured out, and she ventured out,
And I saw them go with pain;
But what befell them I never can tell,
For they never came back again.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net