A rooster once pursued a worm
  That lingered not to brave him,
To see his wretched victim squirm
  A pleasant thrill it gave him;
He summoned all his kith and kin,
  They hastened up by legions,
With quaint, expressive gurgles in
  Their oesophageal regions.

Just then a kind of glimmering
  Attracting his attention,
The worm became too small a thing
  For more than passing mention:
The throng of hungry hens and rude
  He skilfully evaded.
Said he, “I’ faith, if this be food,
  I saw the prize ere they did.”

It was a large and costly pearl,
  Belonging in a necklace,
And dropped by some neglectful girl:
  Some people are so reckless!
The cock assumed an air forlorn,
  And cried, “It’s really cruel.
I thought it was a grain of corn:
  It’s nothing but a jewel.”

He turned again to where his clan
  In one astounding tangle
With eager haste together ran
  To slay the helpless angle,
And sighed, “He was of massive size.
  I should have used discretion.
Too late! Around the toothsome prize
  A bargain-sale’s in session.”

The worm’s remarks upon his plight
  Have never been recorded,
But any one may know how slight
  Diversion it afforded;
For worms and human beings are
  Unanimous that, when pecked,
To be the prey of men they far
  Prefer to being hen-pecked.

THE MORAL: When your dinner comes
  Don’t leave it for your neighbors,
Because you hear the sound of drums
  And see the gleam of sabres;
Or, like the cock, you’ll find too late
  That ornaments external
Do not for certain indicate
  A bona fide kernel.