Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Humphry The Church Mouse--page 2 of 10

Statues of the king stood all over town
A carved-sort-of-smile, a carved-sort-of-frown
One statue read; "All your coins for the king, if you please"
Another said; "Always remember, who keeps the keys"

Mouseville, a town without any order
Was full of crime from border to border
"Remember my law!" raged Rat, waving his hat
"There is no law--not one--and that's that!!

Years before, Rat named the streets
Angry Alley, Dirty Tricks-n-no Treats
Boredom Boulevard, Awful Avenue
Vengeance Valley and I'll Get You Too

One gray day Humphry was playing
When four of Rat's guards rushed by, not saying
A word they crashed and smashed the door to his house
Took his parents to prison; Poor Humphry! Poor Mouse!

One grayer day later the headlines read
"Two...Very...Dangerous...Mice...Dead!"
The paper said they were spreading disease
They refused to bow to the king on their knees

It seems his parents had angered the king
They snickered at his hat and wouldn't kiss his ring
The king raged nine times then raged again
And threw Mom and Dad into Orange-Cat's den

Humphry was orphaned, that was a fact
So he packed his mitt, the ball and bat
He was alone in the world with nowhere to stay
The neighbors all chanted "Go Away! Go Away!

His aunts and uncles told Humphry to leave
What happened next is hard to believe
Uncle Thor took his mitt, ball and bat
While some mean cousin stole his ragged old cap

Auntie Alena mewed "We love you Humphry"
"Oh, by the way, your coat looks so  comfy
The relatives emptied his house that night
And fought over everything that was in sight

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