Poem 6, "The King of Cats Orders an Early Breakfast" Summary

This sweet little singing ballad of two stanzas is also in anapestic scansion. This poem is written or perhaps sung by The King of Cats. He is a cat, not the lion, who is the King of Beasts, and from the look on his face in the illustration, he is a friendly enough fellow.

In this poem, he is ordering breakfast, and an unusual breakfast it is. The first part of the order seems normal enough, though small, a roasted wren, in line one. In the second line, however, he wants "Brisket of Basilisk treat," which might either kill him or the cook if the Basilisk glances the wrong way. Line three mentions that his breakfast is "on the house." He understands this as a...