The Puncture

When I was just a Kitten small,
    They gave to me a Rubber Ball
To roll upon the floor.
    One day I tapped it with my paw
And pierced the rubber with my claw;
    Now it will roll no more.

Oliver Herford

Oliver Herford was born in England on December 2, 1860. He was a British-born American writer, artist, and illustrator, often referred to as 'The American Oscar Wilde' for his sharp wit and humorous works. Herford authored and illustrated many books for children and adults, contributing to magazines such as "The Criterion", "Life", and "Punch". He died on July 5, 1935, in France.

Oliver Herford

Stairs - A Toast

Oliver Herford, Simple Poetry

An Alphabet of Celebrities

Oliver Herford, Simple Poetry

J. Pierpont Morgan

Oliver Herford, Simple Poetry

The Elephant.

Oliver Herford, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

The Game

Watching a ball on the end of a string,
    Watching it swing back and to,
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
    Ever a Kitten can do.

First it goes this way, then it goes that,
    Just like a bird on the wing.
And all of a tremble I crouch on the mat
    Like a Lion, preparing to spring.

And now with a terrible deafening mew,
    Like a Tiger I leap on my prey,
And just when I think I have torn it in two
    It is up in the air and away.

Oliver Herford

The Puppy

The Puppy cannot mew or talk,
    He has a funny kind of walk,
His tail is difficult to wag
    And that's what makes him walk zigzag.

He is the Kitten of a Dog,
    From morn till night he's all agog--
Forever seeking something new
    That's good but isn't meant to chew.

He romps about the Tulip bed,
    And chews the Flowers white and red,
And when the Gardener comes to see
    He's sure to blame mamma or me.

One game that cannot ever fail
    To please him is to chase his tail--
(To catch one's tail, 'twixt me and you,
    Is not an easy thing to do.)

If he has not a pretty face
    The Puppy's heart is in its place.
I'm sorry he must grow into
    A Horrid, Noisy Dog, aren't you?

Oliver Herford

Education

When People think that Kittens play,
    It's really quite the other way.
For when they chase the Ball or Bobbin
    They learn to catch a Mouse or Robin.

The Kitten, deaf to Duty's call,
    Who will not chase the bounding ball,
A hungry Cathood will enjoy,
    The scorn of Mouse and Bird and Boy.

Oliver Herford

The Colubriad.

Close by the threshold of a door naild fast
Three kittens sat; each kitten lookd aghast.
I, passing swift and inattentive by,
At the three kittens cast a careless eye;
Not much concernd to know what they did there;
Not deeming kittens worth a poets care.
But presently a loud and furious hiss
Caused me to stop and to exclaim, Whats this?
When lo! upon the threshold met my view
With head erect, and eyes of fiery hue,
A viper long as Count de Grasses queue.
Forth from his head his forked tongue he throws,
Darting it full against a kittens nose;
Who, having never seen, in field or house,
The like, sat still and silent as a mouse;
Only projecting with attention due,
Her whiskerd face, she asked him, Who are you?
On to the hall went I, with pace not...

William Cowper

A Kitten's Fancy

The Kitten mews outside the Door,
    The Cat-bird in the Tree,
The Sea-mew mews upon the Shore,
    The Catfish in the Sea.

The Emu with his feathers queer
    Is mewing in the Zoo.
Why is it that I never hear
    A Pussy-willow mew?

Oliver Herford

Good and Bad Kittens

Kittens, you are very little,
    And your kitten bones are brittle,
If you'd grow to Cats respected,
    See your play be not neglected.

Smite the Sudden Spool, and spring
    Upon the Swift Elusive String,
Thus you learn to catch the wary
    Mister Mouse or Miss Canary.

That is how in Foreign Places
    Fluffy Cubs with Kitten faces,
Where the mango waves sedately,
    Grow to Lions large and stately.

But the Kittencats who snatch
    Rudely for their food, or scratch,
Grow to Tomcats gaunt and gory,--
    Theirs is quite another story.

Cats like these are put away
    By the dread S. P. C. A.,
Or to trusting Aunts and Sisters
    Sold as Sable Muffs and Wristers.

Oliver Herford