The voice of the lobster poem

 

"'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare 
'You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair.' 
As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose 
Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes. 
When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark, 
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark: 
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around, 
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound."

"I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye, 
How the Owl and the Panter were sharing a pie: 
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat, 
While the Old had the dish as its share of the treat. 
When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon, 
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon: 
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl, 
And concluded the banquet by [eating the owl.]