A Fish Story.
Clara Doty Bates 1838 – 1895
Sir Arthur, the sinner,
Ate twelve fish for dinner,
And you may believe it's just as I say!
For if you but knew it,
'Twas I saw him do it,
And just as it happened, sir, this was the way:
One day this tall fish
Swallowed this small fish
(He had just eaten a smaller one still);
Up came this queer one
And gobbled that 'ere one--
Didn't he show the most magical skill?
Then came this other
And chewed up his brother,
Made but one gulp, and behold he was through!
He was a gold fish
Oh! he was a bold fish--
But before he could wink he was eaten up too!
Up came a flounder,
He was a ten-pounder,
Opened his mouth, swallowed him and was gone;
Before you could blink, sir,
Before he could shrink, sir,
This fish came by and the flounder was gone!
(Alas for my story,
'Tis getting quite gory!
So many swallows a summer might make.)
This one came smiling,
And, sweetly beguiling,
Gobbled the last like a piece of hot cake;
A cod followed after;
'Twould move you to laughter
To see in his turn how this hake came up,
Swallowed that cod, sir,
As if he were scrod, sir,
And then went by in a kind of a huff!
Last, but not least,
Came this fellow, the beast--
Down went the hake like a small pinch of snuff!
Then Cap'en Jim caught him,
And then mamma bought him,
And then Annie cooked him, served up in a dish;
And so this small sinner
Who had him for dinner--
'Twas just as I say, sir--had eaten twelve fish!
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 14 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABCCBDDEFFEAAGDDGAAHAAHIIJKKJAALAAMNNMOODAAD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,356 |
Words | 277 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 45 |
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"A Fish Story." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/54932/a-fish-story.>.
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