I think you will own
That it is very rare
To see fishes and frogs
Sail about in the air,
While the birds and the poultry
Are swimming about
Like so many mackerel
Or pikes, sprats, or trout,
In old times, the fishes,
And birds, were content
To remain all their lives
In their _own_ element.
Things are different now:
They have changed the old times,
Turned the world topsy-turvy,
With no reasons or rhymes.
But I think you'll agree
It is simply absurd
For a fish to pretend
He is just like a bird.
But for birds to be fishes
Is really as bad:
One would fancy they all
Had surely gone mad.
For fishes cold water,
For birds a warm nest,
Of all places, truly,
Is _the_ very best.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Lith. Emrik & Binger, Haarlem.]