the cat - World eBook Library

THE CAT=
Practice
Cultivate your garden, said Goethe and Voltaire,
Every other task is wasted and dead-born;
Narrow all your efforts to a given sphere,
Seek your Heaven daily in a bit of ground.
So my cat behaves. Like a veteran,
He brushes well his coat before he sits to dine;
All his work is centred in his own domain,
Just to keep his spotless fur soft, and clean, and fine.
His tongue is sponge, and brush, and towel, and curry-
comb,
Well he knows what work it can be made to do,
Poor little wash-rag, smaller than my thumb.
His nose touches his back, touches his hind paws too,
Every patch of fur is raked, and scraped, and
smoothed
What more has Goethe done, what more could Voltaire
do?
From the French of Hippolyte Taine.