The Cat's Tale

The Cat's Tale
by Geoffrey Chaucer's Cat

A Cat there was, a gentil taillees manx
Our Hoste hadde seen astray on Thames banks
And taken home to ridden him of rats,
At which she preved to been the beste of cats.
He longed to bringe on pilgrimage his pette,
But Puss bigan to fussen and to frette
when that she sawgh the leathern hond-luggage
In whiche she was yschlept when on viage;
She thinketh that no Canterbury mous
Be worth an expeditioun from hir hous,
And so she took hir leave of us apace
And crept into a secret hiding place,
And when the folk the pavement gan to pounde,
This Pussie-Cat was nowhere to be founde,
And she was leften in the hostelrye
To keepen all the rodentes compaignye;
And that is how this Cat withouten tail
Became as wel a Cat withouten tale.

source: Poetry for Cats, by Henry Beard , 1994



[ this one nearly caused my spelle-checker to commit suicide ]