Explore "The Emu of Whroo" by Edward Dyson on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
We've a tale to tell you of a spavined emit, / A bird with a smile like a crack in a hat, / Who was owned by M'Cue, of the township of Whroo, / The county of Rodney-his front name was Pat. / The bird was a dandy, although a bit bandy, / Her knees, too, were queer and her neck out of gauge- / She'd eat what was handy, from crowbars to candy, / Was tall, too, and tough for a chick of her age. / But her taste and her height, and her figure and smile, / Were the smallest potatoes compared with her guile.
M'Cue's bird had a name, Arabella that same- / A name that was given by Pat, we may say, / To the memory and fame of a red-headed flame, / Because, as he said, 'she wuz builded that way. ' / The bird Arabella let nothing compel her, / Her temper was bad when disturbed, as a rule. / She'd rupture the smeller of any young 'feller' / Who teased, with a kick that would honor a mule. / And the boys and the girls who were then living near / Were all minus an eye -- those with luck had one ear.