The children gather at their father's knees
And, wonder-eyed, the coming story wait--
The story strange, the story sure to please.
The black cat, who absorbed their cares but late,
Is left to hold his solitary state.
"'Twas thus," the father said, "as I came home,
I reached the ruined castle's postern gate
Just at the time the bats begin to roam
And dart with heedless wings about the ivied gloam;